A Heart of Ice
by Sirena32
Summary: Bella Swan is the cold, "heartless" 'Ice Princess' of Forks High.But everything changes when gorgeous, kind, wonderful Edward Cullen moves into town and is drawn to Bella's frigid nature. Will Edward be able to warm Bella's cold heart?
1. A Bad Girl

**A/N: Hey guys, guess what? I got an idea and it turned into this. I hope you like it. Sorry again to those of you who were way into my other stories, A Shocking Surprise and The First Day of School. Special thanks to all my reviewers and people who add me and my stories to their story alerts, fave authors, fave stories and author alerts! :) **

**Disclaimer: Sorry to Stephenie Meyer; I've been forgetting disclaimer. Here it is:**

**Me: Hey! Hey! Guess what!**

**Random Friend: What?**

**Me: Guess what I got for my birthday!**

**Random Friend: What?**

**Me: EDWARD FREAKING CULLEN! EEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP!**

**Random Friend: No you didn't.**

**Me: Yes I did. **

**Random Friend: You know how I know you didn't?**

**Me: No. How?**

**Random Friend: Stephenie Meyer is coming our way in a tank and she looks PISSED.**

**Me: Hey, umm, I all of a sudden have to go on a family vacation with my parents.**

**Random Friend: Where? **

**Me: Umm, I don't know; just somewhere very far away! Bye! **

A Bad Girl

I rolled over on my bed and turned off my annoying alarm clock. I sighed. Much better. I sat up and looked around my dark room. It should be a crime to have to get up this early in the morning. But that's high school for you.

I got up and went into my private bathroom to shower. The warm water woke me up a bit as I let it run over my face. I washed my hair with my favorite strawberry shampoo and turned the water off. I threw on a black fluffy robe and stood in front of my closet. Hmm. Most of my clothes were dark. Don't get me wrong. I'm not goth. Doesn't mean I don't like some of the looks though.

Eventually I decided on a red plaid miniskirt, fishnets that only went up to my thighs and a black tank-top that said: Vampires Love You Forever, in big silver letters on the front. I put my vampire fangs necklace around my neck and kneeled down to look under my bed for my black boots with the small spiked heels. I found them and pulled them on, then went back into the bathroom. The mirror wasn't fogged up anymore and I could see my reflection. My hair was still slightly wet, but cascaded down my back in thick voluminous tendrils. It was so dark that it looked almost black against my pale skin, but in actuality, it was really brown. I'd never really been one for makeup so all I put on was some chap-stick. I didn't put on any mascara, no eye-shadow, no blush. Oh, my gosh, definitely no blush. Lord knew I already blushed too much as it was. If I was ever slightly embarrassed, I blushed, If I was angry, I blushed, If I was ever remotely upset, I blushed. It was really the only part of me that I really hated. It's so much harder to hide your feelings on some matters when the face broadcasts them live to everyone. Huffing angrily at myself in the mirror, I turned away and put on a fitted black hoodie, grabbed my backpack and went down the stairs and outside to my truck. It was really old, but I'd given it a new paint job and glossed it up a bit. Sure it didn't run great and wasn't very fast, but I loved it just the same. In fact, I was planning on fixing it up under the hood later on this month.

My dad, Charlie was already gone to work; he was the chief of Forks' police force and always got to work early.

"Criminals never sleep in late, Bells," He always said. "And neither do we." It was kind of cheesy, I'll admit, but it was one of the things I loved about my father. My mother had died when I was about seven and he was all I had left.

I pulled into the school parking lot, grabbed my bag and got out of the car. It was one of those rare sunny days and the sunlight brought out some of the streaks of red in my hair; I could see one of them out of the corner of my eyes. I put my bag over my shoulder and started towards the school.

Before I could reach the doors, though, my path was blocked by a familiar and very much dreaded shadow: Mike Newton. He just couldn't take a hit, even when he was force-fed one.

"Hey Bella!" He said cheerily. Ick, cheer. Even when it came from a person who knew how to use it sparingly I didn't like it at the best of times.

"Mike." I acknowledged him coldly. He ignored my lack of enthusiasm in his presence and went on like we were getting ready to be the top couple at the school, the ones whom everyone envied and loved. We weren't.

"Bells, Bells, Bells. Let's face it. We both know you love me. So what do you say we ditch this place and find somewhere to _get to know each other_ a bit better, eh?"

I was the only girl, or rather should I say, good-looking girl he hadn't messed around with. Funny how he thought I could love anyone at this school, much less him.

"Mike, the only part of me that you will _ever_ get to know personally, is my foot up your—"

"Now, now, Bella. Pretty ladies shouldn't be so cold. It's unbecoming." We were in the school now, and he was behind me as I stopped at my locker. I felt his hand on my butt and start to slide lower to go under my skirt. I whipped around and fast as a snake, grabbed his wrist and yanked it up.

"Unless you want to lose this, you should remember that I do _not_ like to be touched in any way, by idiots like you. Understand?" My voice was honey poured over ice-shards and my eyes were narrowed to slits. Mike went red and slammed his fist against the locker by my head.

"Listen here, you little bitc—"

"HEY!" A voice that brought up images of roses and sunlight and red velvet in my mind interrupted angrily. It was a voice I had never heard before in my life and one that I could have listened to for forever and more.

I turned to see the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. His eyes were deep, shining emeralds, and his hair was a most unique and wonderful shade of bronze, almost red, but still golden. His body was lithe and muscular, but slender, like he was strong, but just not a body builder. His skin was ivory and smooth, his lips, full and soft looking. And now he looked furious. Like he really, really wanted to snap Mike in half over his knee. I was very familiar with that feeling and empathized with him.

"What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?" He was looking at Mike with cold, controlled hatred as he moved closer. Meanwhile I had been cool, calm, and collected the way I always was when things like this happened. And believed me, they happened often enough. I was evaluating my options. Hmm. Mike's legs were braced far apart, just begging me to make sure he could never ever have children in his life. And I'd probably be doing his poor future children a favor if I eliminated any chance they had of being born, but I did enjoy fighting and didn't want the battle to end before it began.

"It's okay," I told the boy. "I've got this." I grabbed one of Mike's arms, and in one quick move, had it behind his back in a lock. He cried out in pain as he tried to get free and hurt himself more as he struggled.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked me, not in an upset way, or worried, but more like genuine curiosity.

"I like to play with my food before I eat it." I answered as I pulled on Mike's arm, making him scream. The boy started to look a little alarmed and moved towards me.

"Careful, you might break his arm."

I stared at him from under my lashes. "Touch me, and I _will_ break it." I heard Mike's sharp intake of breath and turned a grin that I knew was half dangerous and half cold on him. "Come on, Mike. Beg him not to come closer," I pulled his arm again and he yelped. "I don't want to have to break your arm. Alright I'm lying, the truth is I really _do_ want to break it. Now beg."

"Please, please don't come closer! PLEASE!" The other boy hesitated. "She'll do it, man! She's not kidding! Don't come closer!" The boy stopped and I smiled.

"Thankyou." I said politely to the boy. "Now apologize." I said to Mike, my voice hard.

"I-I-I'm so sorry. I-I-I didn't mean any of it, okay? I promise."

"Aaaaannnd?" I prompted.

"And I'll never do it again."

"Why?"

"B-b-because you're the Ice Princess, untouchable and cold."

"Hm, not really what I was going for but it'll work." I let go of his arm, then quickly danced in front of him and kicked him in the crotch. While he doubled over moaning, I turned to my would-be savior. "And what's your name, guy I don't remember meeting?"

"I'm Edward. I just moved here with my family yesterday and that right there, that was something. What's _you're_ name?"

"I'm the Ice Princess." And I turned and walked away. Hmm, Edward, probably like every other idiot of a boy, but still, he might turn out to be different. It was worth a shot, right?


	2. Roses

Roses

I was in my art class, the class I had right before lunch and right after gym. It was conveniently placed; after gym, working on art always calmed me down for my other classes and settled my mind.

I'd always loved to draw, paint or basically create anything with my hands. Art was a way for me to lose myself, to forget pain and sadness. My iciness was my way of dealing with the world and protecting myself from hurt. Since I never expressed myself in words or shows of emotion, I poured my heart out into my pictures. It kept the tears back whenever I thought back over the horror of my life before Forks, my mother, _him_, the accident, how people couldn't look me in the face after, the screaming woman. It was all my fault. I felt the familiar weight fill my chest and close around my heart and I turned up my mp3, drowning myself in the music that mirrored my own predicament:

_Pain, without love,_

_Pain, I can't get enough_

_Pain, I like it rough,_

'_Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all_

_You're sick, of feeling numb,_

_You're not, the only one,_

_I'll take, you by the hand,_

_And I'll show you a world you can understand_

_This life, is filled with hurt,_

_When happiness, doesn't work,_

_Trust me, and take my hand,_

_When the lights go out,_

_You'll understand._

_Pain! Without love,_

_Pain! Can't get enough,_

_Pain! I like it rough,_

'_Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all!_

I threw myself into the picture I was drawing. I was using charcoal, alternating between the pencil and the actual stick. I had drawn a woman standing on the edge of a cliff, not looking like she was going to jump, but conveying a sense of such misery that I felt a knot in my throat. I shaded in her dress a bit, and added some last minute detail to her face. I was beginning to get the feeling of peace that usually came with drawing; I was in my own little world. That's when Edward walked past. He had every single class with me and always found some excuse to speak to me. All I wanted was to be left alone. People didn't know how to listen, just judge and accuse. I'd already fallen for someone once before, and he'd hurt me worse than I'd ever been hurt before. I was making the same mistake again.

The bell rang, making me jump. Kids started filing out of the classroom, going to lunch while I hurriedly put my things away, carefully putting my drawing down on Mrs. Morrello's desk. Before I turned away though, something caught my eye, a flash of red. I turned back to see a beautiful red rose, shown from the top, with the leaves from the stem cupping it. It was drawn with pastel on black paper, which made the color stand out more and the color was so expertly mixed that each petal looked as if I could stretch out my fingers and feel the soft velvet and lean in and inhale the sweet fragrance coming off the flower.

I stared down at it, mesmerized, tracing the lines and curves with my eyes, and disappearing into the swirl of colors. My world was broken apart once again by a voice, quiet and gentle, but curious, as that voice always seemed to be.

"Do you like it?" I turned around slowly, knowing exactly who to expect.

"And why should you care whether I like it or not?" I asked Edward in a voice that wasn't very hostile, but wasn't very nice at all.

He shrugged. "I don't. Whether you like my artwork or not doesn't matter, I'll still continue to create things regardless of your opinion. I was just curious." It took most of my self-control to keep my mouth from hanging open and my expression indifferent. _He_ had drawn this beauty? I was the best artist in the school; no one else had my talent for creativity and this was one of the best pieces I'd ever seen. "I see that you're shocked. You wouldn't exactly think of me as the artist type, huh? More like a jock, right?"

I was afraid for reasons unknown to myself, and when I was frightened, I used offense as my defense and struck out like a cornered animal.

"Why would I care enough to waste my thoughts on you?" I asked icily. "I couldn't care less whether you're a jock, an artist or a circus performer from mars. I don't know you and I don't want to, so leave me the hell alone!"

I turned away from his piercing green eyes, which were boring into me like he was looking for my soul and couldn't find it, and grabbed my bag from the floor next to my desk. When I looked up, instead of finding him gone, I found him still standing there, his face inscrutable and his eyes distantly sad. "Why are you still _here_?" I asked nastily. "Shouldn't you be flirting with some other girl that _actually cares_ about the things you do?"

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked me quietly.

"Because you _exist._" I spat angrily. "You haven't done anything yet, but you'll try and when you do, I'll have to take care of you the way I did Newton. Stay away from me." I didn't wait for his reply, but turned and walked out of the classroom and into the cafeteria.

I sat by myself in the lunchroom. Always did, always will. It wasn't that nobody wanted me, it was that I didn't want them. Everyday I either put in my earbuds or read a book while eating my lunch. I was indifferent to stares and was cold to anyone who tried to sit down. Today, I pulled my battered copy of _Wuthering Heights_ from my bag and immersed myself in the 19th century world of Cathy and Heathcliff. I was just getting into the story when I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked up from my book and my eyes met a pair of emerald green ones. Edward was sitting at a table directly across from mine with several other kids. There was a big boy, who looked like a senior, with broad shoulders and muscled arms and curly brown hair, a blond boy, lean in comparison to the big one, with a strong-looking, compactly muscled body, more like Edward's. Next to the blond sat a beautiful girl with long golden hair. She looked so much like the blond that I knew they were brother and sister, maybe even twins. On the blond's other side was a tiny pixie-like girl with short, spiky black hair. She was chattering and the entire group was laughing and ignoring the stares the others were giving them and the whispers floating around.

Soooo. These were the new kids, huh? Looked like they were on their way to the top. Not like I cared.

I made my stare icy and hard and stared at Edward until he looked away, then I went back to my book.

After lunch I had Biology with Mr. Banner. I sat down at my table and waited for him to come into the classroom. While I was waiting, Jessica came up to me looking pissed.

"Hey Swan," She said, going for badass.

"What's up Stanley? Not that I particularly care." I answered disinterestedly. I didn't even look up at her; I went through my binder, looking for my notes.

"Stay away from Edward. He's mine, do you hear me? _Mine_. And I'm not going to let a little whore like you take him away from me. Got it?" She narrowed her eyes at me.

I looked up at her, bored. "One, I do _what_ I want _when_ I want with _whomever_ I want. Two, go ahead and take him, see if I give a shit. And three, you bore me, piss off before you get hurt." And with that, I dug in my bag, pulled out my book, and started to read, ignoring her.

Jessica sputtered. "I'm not playing with you, Swan, I'll hurt you."

I gave a humorless laugh. "And I'm sure you're just _dying_ to try, aren't you? I could always arrange it for you, of course. All it takes is no heart, no regret and no conscience, all three of which I possess. Getting the picture?"

"I'm serious, Swan. I wasn't playing with you."

"Neither," I said, getting annoyed, "was I." I tuned her out while she continued to yap, yap, yap, and soon, Edward walked through the door. I was jolted into awareness by his voice as he spoke to Jessica, who was still trying to get me to notice her.

"Is there a problem, Jessica?" He asked her smoothly. She stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh, hey Edward," she answered, trying to sound seductive, teasing and nonchalant at the same time. She ended up sounding like a cat choking on a hairball. "there's this party at Mike's place Saturday night. Be my date?"

Edward's tone went from smooth to exceedingly polite. "Sorry Jessica, I've got plans all weekend, starting on Friday." I could almost _hear_ Jessica as she pouted.

"Oh, come on Eddie, what could be more fun than a party?"

"Lot's of things actually." Edward sounded as if he was done with the conversation as he sat down next to me. "Oh, and it's Edward, not Eddie." Jessica looked stricken and unbelieving. I let out a giggle and then told myself, what the hell, and busted up laughing, letting out peal after peal of laughter. The people in the class shot me wierded out looks; I never laughed, or really smiled here at school. I saw Edward look at me out of the corner of my eye and saw him close his eyes and smile lightly, as if he were listening to music he liked. Jessica looked pissed.

"Something funny, Swan?" She asked me.

I looked up at her. "Yeah, the fact that he didn't fall for your 'I'm trying to break the sluttiest whore record before the month ends' act. Screw off, Jessica."

She looked positively furious now, and just as she was about to reply, Mr. Banner ordered her back to her desk. She turned away, but not before giving me a glare that would kill pigeons in mid-air. I flipped her off and kept reading my book. When Mr. Banner cleared his voice at the front of the class, I dog-eared my page and opened my spiral to take notes.

We were mostly reviewing for a test that was coming up, so I started doodling, and ended up writing a poem:

Rose

No one gives the color red to a glacier,

Stones feel no velvet,

Love cannot dwell where there is no heart,

My heart no longer bleeds petals

I sighed, only one more class to go then I could go home to my puppy, Sebastian, and my dad. I sighed again. They were the only people in this world that I loved. I looked up and noticed Edward looking down at the poem I'd written. I waited for him to look confused; most people don't understand the things poetry express, but _he_ looked like he knew and understood exactly what it meant. His wonderfully green eyes looked upset, distant and sad and he ran a hand through his messy bronze hair. His eyes met mine and I couldn't look away.

Something tugged in my chest and I felt my eyes close of their own accord. What was happening to me? I jolted myself out of the trance and quickly turned away. Little did I know that that was the beginning of something that would change my life forever.

The next morning, I opened my locker and found a single red rose with a note attached:

The one who gives red, might melt ice,

Stone may feel velvet, if given the chance,

Love may bring a heart back,

Pain may be banished if destroyed by something

And your heart may never bleed again.

I could feel the blood rise to my cheeks and my heart gave an odd thump. I caressed the rose's luscious petals and inhaled the sweet aroma coming off it. I knew Edward had put it there, but I couldn't bring myself to hate his gift because it was so beautiful. I kissed one of the petals and put it carefully down on top of one of the books in my locker and closed it back.

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took so long, but I had a lot to do. Oh, and sorry for the future because it might take me some time to write the next one because winter break is over and I really need to pick up my Biology grade. But, as a special treat, I'll be writing the next one in Edward's point of view. I love reviews so if you read PLEASE review and whether you hated it, liked it, loved it, I want to know. Oh, yeah, and my B-day is on Jan. 4****th**** and it just MIGHT helped me write faster if someone told me happy birthday in a review ^_^ Happy New Year and until next we meet.**


	3. When Emeralds Fall into Chocolate

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry for not updating, I've been really busy, with finals coming up and everything. Thanks for the Happy Birthdays guys and for all of the wonderful reviews. Special shoutouts to:**

**HyperFairyFaye (I apologize if I spell any of your names wrong)**

**kawaiigrlmari**

**14**

**ilike2read2**

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**HarryHermioneBellaSwan**

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**I'm so glad you guys love my story and I really enjoy all the reviews. I appreciate the no flames thing, but I still want you guys to be honest. If you come to my story, decide you hate it, please review it and tell me what I did wrong before you look for another story to read. I'd also like some ideas about what the future of the story holds. I already know how Bella and Edward are basically going to fall in love, but what will I do after that? Reviews are the highlight and help of my day. Thanks.**

**XOXO Sirena32**

**Disclaimer:**

**I only own what doesn't belong in the books **_**Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and the draft of Midnight Sun. **_

**Here it is hope you enjoy!**

When Emeralds Slip into Chocolate

**EPOV: **

I saw her lean in and kiss the rose's petals, then put it back into her locker. Isabella Swan. Calm, cold, cool, collected Isabella Swan. She was hurting and miserable. I'd only been here barely two days and already I could see that. It was amazing no one else did. To them, she just some totally hot chick with a bad attitude and a shadowy past. They were shallow and superficial, and would have drowned in the deep waters Bella was swimming in. To them, the most important things of life were popularity, clothes and sex. To me, Bella was a strong, beautiful, untouchable girl with a bright mind, deep brown eyes and a wall around her soul. She was cold and cruel, but only when she was bothered and she didn't go out of her way to torment people; she only wanted to be left alone. So why couldn't I let her be? I didn't know. Despite her frigid nature, though, she appeared to have a soft spot for roses. I'd caught her gazing down at the one I had drawn, mesmerized, and now I knew that she knew who had sent the one in her locker. Despite her seeming dislike of me, she'd handled it carefully, and lovingly.

After lunch, I walked into Biology to see Bella sitting at our desk reading. Jessica was sending her spiteful, hateful glances and Bella was completely ignoring her. As I sat down, Bella started to look up automatically, then caught herself and continued reading. I sighed.

Mr. Banner came into the class after the bell rang and after taking roll, proceeded to tell us we had a project coming up.

"You and your partner," he gestured at the person we sat next to, " will spend two and a half months getting to know each other. By January 15th I want you know everything about your partner. And not just what their favorite color is, but who they are _inside_. Their habits, hobbies, personalities; _everything._ This _will_ be a test grade and I want a pictorial presentation of your partner. It can be a movie, powerpoint, picture, anything, just so it explains who exactly your person is. Understood?"

I snuck a look over at Bella. Her face was hard and cold and she was so tense she looked ready to snap. I could tell she would hate this project; having to let someone in, behind her protective walls, knowing _her_. I raised my hand.

"Mr. Banner, what does this have to do with Biology?" I asked politely.

"Nothing at all, Mr. Cullen. Why? Is there a problem with the assignment?" I quickly glanced at Bella, she was still rigid, and now looked as if she was holding her breath.

"I'm just not entirely comfortable with the idea of having someone be forced to reveal who they are underneath to someone they don't want to."

Mr. Banner's expression went sour. "Well, then I'm sorry Edward, but this is the assignment and I expect it to be completed." He turned away, obviously ending the conversation.

Most of the guys in the classroom gaped at me in astonishment. What? Edward Cullen was partnered with the most wanted girl in the school and he didn't want it? Not just partnered, but having to get close to her? Apparently I was trying to pass up the chance of a lifetime and they now thought I was crazy. Jessica and Lauren, however, were sitting back in their seats with smirks on their faces. I could see that they thought that since I didn't want Bella, I _must_ want one of them. I snorted at the idea. Bella sat totally oblivious, her eyes slightly unfocused. It was as if _she_ wasn't there. Only her body. Wherever she was though, must have been a better place than here, because she looked almost peaceful.

The next day, **(A/N: What day was it again? Sorry I forgot, so I'm going to have to put the weekend in randomly. I'm pretty sure it's Wednesday, though ^_^) **after second period, I had gym with Bella. I was in the boys' locker room. Just as I took my shirt off, Mike Newton came up to me with Tyler Crowley.

"Hey! Eddie my man! I hear you got paired up with Bella the Ice Princess." Tyler started, loudly.

"Don't call me 'Eddie'." I replied in a hard voice. I pulled my gym shirt down over my head and put my shorts on.

"Aah," Tyler said. "I understand why you're down. I feel sorry for you man, if I was paired up with that little hoe I'd probably kill myself before she did. She will chew your ass up and spit you out and then fucking _laugh_ about it." He laughed. I was pissed.

"I bet that's what she did to you, huh, Crowley?" I said, looking up while tying my shoes. "The difference being that you deserved it. Just like you, huh, Newton?"

Mike looked mad and Tyler was incredulous. "Are you actually going to try to _protect_ the little whore?"

I snapped. "Don't talk about her like that," I said, practically snarling. "She's a person, and more, she's a lady. It's no wonder she can't stand sad bastards like you."

Newton laughed. "_Ice Princess_ is no more a lady than I am a hooker."

I stood up. "I guess that makes you a hooker then." I turned and walked out the door and into the hallway just in time to see Bella walk ahead of me and into the gym. She'd had her long dark hair in a single long braid and worn black gym shorts and a black T-shirt that read in dark purple letters _Mess with Me, and I'll Kick Your Ass_.

I jogged up behind her and opened the door for her. Startled, she looked up at me. Her eyes were so deep and clear. Looking into them was like swimming in an ocean of cool, creamy chocolate. Past the outward cold, there was warmth, but also misery. Those were eyes you could slip into and drown in if you weren't careful.

Bella blinked. "You should really take what the shirt says seriously, Edward. I don't _play_ with little boys." She entered the gym before I could respond. For once she hadn't sounded cold and hostile. Instead she had sounded a bit patronizing, as if warning a kid not to jump into shark-infested waters. It was amazing how in control she always appeared. All of a sudden, I wanted to be the one to take the misery out of her eyes.


	4. In the Heart of the Storm

**A/N: Hey what's up people? I'm back with chapter four, hope you guys like it. I've been trying to respond to all of your comments and reviews, and let me just say, I love them all. And to ilike2read2 I hope this is long enough for you and I'll try not to put any A/Ns in the middle of the story. Thanks everyone!**

**xoxo Sirena32 **

In the Heart of the Storm

**Bella's POV:**

I was confused. Want to know why? I was confused because of the conversation I'd overheard from the boy's locker-room. Tyler had called me a hoe and a whore and _Edward _of all people had defended me. He'd called me a lady and protected me verbally even though I'd been absolutely _awful_ to him. He didn't know me and the only thing I'd shown him was that I was a bad person with a bad reputation. Why? Maybe he wanted something from me and wouldn't be like every other guy until I absolutely refused to give it to him. I didn't know, and I sighed as I walked to the gym door.

Suddenly, the door opened before I could touch it and I gasped, and looked up, startled, into shining emeralds. Edward had opened the door for me and was now looking at me almost like he was hypnotized as he gazed into my eyes. I felt warmth spread over my cheekbones.

I blinked. "You should really take what the shirt says seriously, Edward. I don't _play_ with little boys." I walked into the gym before he could respond and sat on the bottom bleacher, waiting for Coach Goad to come into the gym. I crossed my legs at the ankles and leaned back on my arms. Most of the girls in the gym were huddled together, laughing and giggling together, dressed in really short shorts and tight shirts. Jessica and Lauren were the sluttiest though. Jessica's shorts were so short that half her butt was hanging out and her shirt was so short it was practically a sports bra. Lauren's was cut so low, it was amazing her chest didn't just fall out of her shirt and her shorts were just as tight and short as Jessica's. I snorted and rolled my eyes. If they were any sluttier they'd be on street corners advertising staying the night for five bucks.

Edward came in after me looking like a male model advertising a clothes line called 'Gym Class'. He was wearing a fitted gray T-shirt that hugged his chest and shoulders with basketball shorts. His hair was tousled as usual and he ran a hand through it almost absent-mindedly as he surveyed the scene before him. Every girl had their eyes on him, including Jessica and Lauren and the expression on every single face screamed 'Yum!'

Edward looked uncomfortable and looked at me, and looked like he was debating on whether or not to come sit next to me. I raised my eyebrows at him, daring him to come over. A determined look entered his eyes and he deliberately walked over, and sat down next to me.

"Hey," He greeted me.

I looked up at him from under my lashes. "What?"

His expression stayed calm and relaxed despite the quiet cool in my voice. "We _are_ partnered for the project Bella. I figure it'd be a good idea to start now."

"Well, you figured wrong. Why would you even want to start now? We're in _gym_." I was trying not to stare at him, and failing miserably. I was coming to love how his eyes shined and showed so much emotion.

"Well, we could start by seeing if we're good at whatever it is we'll be doing today. Are you clumsy? Graceful? Competitive? I already see that when you come to gym you actually _expect_ to sweat. I want to know what else I can learn about you right now."

I felt my eyes widen, then pulled myself together, taking it as a challenge. "You want to know? Well I guess you'll find out now, huh?" I stood up as Coach Goad decided to make his appearance. He had a big white mustache and a ruddy complexion. He was carrying a clipboard and had a whistle around his throat.

"Alright people, partner up. We're going one on one in basketball today. Each team will play for five minutes and when the buzzer goes off, whoever has the most points wins."

The moment he finished speaking, Lauren and Jessica immediately whipped to Edward, who was standing next to me. Edward, who was completely oblivious, looked down at me. I raised one eyebrow.

"You do _not_ want to be my partner, Edward. I'm warning you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well how about, you be my partner _now_, and you can say 'I told you so' _later_?"

I narrowed my eyes and shrugged. "Your funeral." Just as I was turning back around to listen to Coach Goad, I realized Lauren was on her way over, swaying her hips in the most ridiculous manner. She had her eyes on Edward and she had what was probably supposed to be a coy, seductive look on her face. She looked like she was sucking on sour lemons.

I heard Edward curse under his breath and I looked over at him. He glanced down at me hurriedly. "Please help me." He muttered to me.

"_What?_" I asked him, taken aback.

"Get her to leave me alone, I've tried, and I've tried, but she just won't take a hint. It's starting to piss me off."

"Welcome to my world, buddy." I said dryly. I sighed, and turned around. "Hey Lauren, who's your partner? Better find one fast, before everyone's taken."

Lauren sneered at me. "Better take your own advice, Swan, nobody would be suicidal enough to even _consider_ asking _you_." She threw in a sickly sweet smile which I returned with a sharp-toothed grin.

"I guess that makes Edward suicidal, then." I laughed breezily and had the sweet, sweet satisfaction of seeing Lauren eyes widen. She looked between us, back and forth, and Edward shrugged, with a half-smile. Huffing angrily, she walked off. The moment she was gone, I dropped the light, happy act and turned to Edward.

"You owe me." I said, looking up at him.

He smiled crookedly. "I know."

"Right, now that everyone's in their teams, we can start. Who's going first?" Coach Goad asked. Nobody volunteered. "Alright, Swan and Cullen, you two can start." He gave us a smug grin and I rolled my eyes. He turned on the scoreboard and set the time. "We're going half-court. Now I'm going to roll the ball down the floor and whichever one of you catches it, starts out on offense. Understand? Good, now here you go!" he rolled the ball down the floor and I took off after it, Edward hot on my heels. I'd always been athletic; my whole life I'd done basketball, track, baseball, and those sports required lots of running, so I was pretty fast and my light weight added to my advantage over Edward. I flew past him, or at least tried to, but he was obviously used to running too and kept up with me.

I had my eyes on the basketball, and as I was nearing it, I started to get low, bending my knees a bit more as I prepared to grab it. Just as I reached down for it, Edward slammed into me from behind, and I lost my breath as I fell forward. Something caught me around the waist before I landed on the ground and I looked up to see Edward laughing.

"Sorry," He said, grinning. "Didn't mean to run into you like that." His arms were still around my waist and I shoved him away from me.

"I'll survive." I pointed to the ball. "You start." Edward picked it up and threw it to me.

"Ladies first," He said, a small smile still on his mouth. I wanted to wipe it off with a baseball bat. I threw the ball back at him.

"No, I told _you_ to go first." I was getting more than extremely annoyed.

"_Bella,_" He said, passing it back.

"Edward I'm not going to sit here and play hot potato with you. _Start. NOW._"

"Wow, you're stubborn too; something else to add to my list." But he dutifully went to the three-point line and checked the ball. Coach started the time and we were off.

Edward dribbled the left, my right and I stayed right with him, down in defensive position. He tried a weak crossover and I stole the ball. I dribbled up to the three-point line and crossed the ball over to my left hand. Edward stood to the side a bit.

"Don't hold back Edward. Just because I'm a girl doesn't automatically make me weak." I drove straight down the middle of the paint and scored. On the scoreboard the number 'two' appeared under Home.

"I was just being polite," Edward said, catching the ball out of the net and dribbling back up to the line. Now he started to play. He starting pump-faking me, jab-stepping, and keeping his body between me and the ball. He scored twice, one of the shots a three and the other one a layup. It was my ball now, and he was three points ahead of me. He was in front of me, expecting me to try to cross him over and drive down the middle to score. Instead, I jab-stepped to the left, his right, to fake him, then shot from the three-point line. It was a clean shot, the ball went in without touching anything but the net. I laughed. Not a breezy one, or a cold-scary-dangerous 'If you don't leave me alone right now expect to wake up dead' one, but a real laugh. I stopped quickly, seeing that Edward had the ball again. Two minutes and fifty-eight seconds later, Edward and I were tied up at fifteen. Neither of us was breathing hard or sweating and we had both ended up laughing at the end of the game. We were too evenly matched. Lauren and Jessica were glaring at me with hate and as they were called to play, I decided to sit down lean back, and enjoy what would surely be a funny show. Edward sat down next to me.

"Good game." He said.

"Thanks," I replied. "I would've beaten you if I'd had more time, you know. And if I hadn't held back a bit."

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Held back?"

I rolled my eyes. "Um, yeah? Despite my nature, I didn't want to completely humiliate you in front of the class, Edward. You'd have been ridiculed eternally."

Edward sighed violently. "I wouldn't have minded being beaten by someone-" _Here it comes, _I thought, _the cliché pickup line used by every guy. _"-better than me." He finished.

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I said 'I wouldn't have minded being beaten by someone better than me.' It tells me what I need to work on to get better. Gender doesn't matter."

I sat back. "Oh."

He said it so earnestly and honestly that I could believe he wasn't a sexist idiot. All of a sudden I wanted to ask him something.

"Edward did you leave the rose in my locker?"

He looked at me, his expression calm. "Yes," he said simply.

"_Why?_"

"Because you like them." He stated matter-of-factly. Just as I was about to ask him just how he thought he knew this he spoke again. "I saw how you gazed at the one I'd drawn, before you knew I was the artist, of course, and you looked as if you were dreaming. And better, you looked _happy_ there, wherever you were. And then when I saw the poem you wrote, I decided you were having a bad day, so I decided to try to give you a part of the world that makes you smile."

"Why are you so preoccupied with me?" I asked him, really wanting to know. He kept protecting me, showing up with a smile, trying to _help_ me, despite the fact that I practically screamed at him to leave me the _fuck_ alone.

"Can't we be friends, Bella?" He asked me. His eyes were huge and dark, forest green, but with a golden shine to them. Deep in them, I could see a glimmer of hope, but for what I couldn't tell.

"Why would you want to be friends with me, the social and emotional outcast of the school?" I whispered.

"Because sometimes, being an outcast can be a good thing. You're the only person I've met in this school who isn't totally full of it and completely worth getting to know. You're not fake, you may hide behind a mask, but you're definitely not fake." His face was completely open, and his gaze was soft. I noticed something all of a sudden, about the way he always looked at me. In his gaze, I never felt like a piece of meat or an interesting piece of art, like I did when other guys looked at me. He treated me like a person, not a prize to be won and I appreciated it. So I gave him the on answer I could.

"Okay, we'll be friends," I said cautiously, "but that's it, okay?"

"Bella," he said, looking into my eyes, "that's all I would ever ask."

**Edward's POV:**

When I left the gym after class, I sighed. I'd only known the girl for about three days and of those three this was the first conversation we'd had that she hadn't been telling me to leave her alone. I'd been in the heart of the storm. Still, I'd felt warm and tingling inside as I spoke to her. I loved her bell-like laugh already, and the way she'd blushed after I opened the door for her. I loved her creativity and athletic ability. I didn't want to admit it, but I was starting to fall for Isabella Swan.

**A/N: And sorry about it ending right here for those of you who completely and totally love my story. I tried to make it longer, this is about eight pages. For those of you who don't get basketball, when you jab-step, you're basically pretending to go one direction to shake the defense. A pump-fake is when you pretend to shoot the ball to make your defense jump up to block it so you can go around them when they're still in the air. I hope you guys liked it and I'll put the next one up as soon as possible. I LOVE reviews and I try to respond to all of them. Thanks,**

**xoxo Sirena32 **


	5. Backstage

**A/N: Oh my GOSH you guys I'm SO sorry! I didn't mean to make you wait so long! I got hung up with a new idea for my book, and I pulled my grades up, and I've just been plain lazy! SO SO SO **_**SO**_** SORRY! I've made this chapter long to make up for all the time I've let go by in between chapters. PLEASE forgive me!**

**-Sirena32 xoxo**

**Disclaimer: If pigs flew, the sky turned a sickly shade of green, and Edward started aging, I STILL wouldn't own this.**

Backstage

**BPOV:**

After gym, I was in the girl's locker room finishing up so that I could get home. I was the last person there and as I put my bag over my shoulder and shut my locker door, I heard somebody come in.

I turned around to see Jessica and Lauren standing there, glaring at me. I put on a fake smile. "What can I do for you?" I asked pleasantly.

"You can stay away from Edward, that's what you can do, bitch." Lauren snarled.

I held onto my smile. "I'm afraid that won't be possible, sweetheart. We _are_ partners for the biology project." I made myself laugh breezily, musically. "Silly, I can't believe you forgot."

Jessica then made the stupidest mistake she could possibly have made. She shoved me against the lockers. "Look, you little slut. If you don't stay away from Edward—" But I had gotten tired of hearing her speak, and I spoke over her, smoothly, my voice no longer polite, playful or breezy. I made it colder than ice, and dangerous like a snake about to strike.

"Did you just push me?" I straightened up and turned cool eyes on her, my cold fury flickering in their depths. Jessica actually took a step back and Lauren looked scared.

"N-no," she stuttered out.

"I think you did," I said softly, advancing on her. "And I don't like it when people touch me. I think I'm going to show you just how _much_ I don't like it." I hadn't even touched them yet and already, Jessica turned around and ran, screaming, to the door. Lauren followed her, screaming pathetically:

"You'll see! You shouldn't mess with us Bella! You shouldn't!"

I stood still for a second then doubled over in laughter. I tried to get myself under control as I left the lockers and was still hiccupping when I rammed into something hard.

"Oof—dammit!" I said as I bounced back and lost my balance.

"Careful," He said as he steadied me. "I don't want you to end up in the hospital." He dropped his hands from my shoulders before I could tell him to and I looked up into bright green eyes.

"Edward," I acknowledged him. "Sorry for bumping into you like that."

He grinned. "No problem, no blood, no foul."

I hid a smile. "Well, see you later!" I tried to go around him, but he blocked my way.

"Wait! Do you want to come over to my house? You know, for the project?" He looked a bit nervous and his brow was wrinkled.

I looked up at him through my lashes. "_You_ can come to _my_ house. I don't exactly trust you yet. You'll have to follow me there."

He grimaced. "Can't," he said. "I drove my siblings here. Maybe I can ride with you? That way they get home, and we don't waste time."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, whatever. Come on." He followed me out to the parking lot to my car.

**EPOV:**

I was in Bella's truck, riding shotgun and we just sat in an awkward silence. She looked tense, her shoulders were stiff and her posture was rigid. She stared straight ahead at the road and drove at an agonizingly slow sixty miles an hour. I tried not to watch her, but I couldn't help it. I kept glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, her pale skin, dark hair, the way she was biting her lip unconsciously…

I shook my head. Look out the window. Watch the trees. There's an unusual amount of forest in this state. I peeked at Bella. Eyes on the trees, boy.

Finally, I couldn't stand it, and turned back to her. "Do you mind if I turn the radio?"

She didn't look at me. "Not particularly. No Pop, Rap, Country, or Reggae."

I grinned to myself; something else to add to my mental list. I turned the radio to a classical station, hoping she wouldn't mind and one of my favorites came on.

Bella relaxed visibly and cocked her head slightly to the music. "Claire de Lune," she sighed.

I started in surprise. "You know Debussy?"

She nodded. "Of course; this is one of my favorites."

"Mine too." I sat back and listened, humming along quietly until we reached her house.

**BPOV:**

I pulled up into the driveway of my house. My dad's police cruiser was already there, meaning he was home. I smiled to myself, remembering how he used to try to surprise me with a snack after I got home from school. It always ended in disaster, but it was the thought that counted.

I un-strapped my seat belt and grabbed my bag. I turned to open my car door and found it already being held open by a somewhat distracted-looking Edward.

"The gallantry thing doesn't work on me, Edward. I told you once before, I don't like to play." I got out of the truck and shut the door.

Edward shrugged. "I was raised to be a gentleman. It's more of a habit now, unconscious and involuntary." I raised my eyebrows, but didn't say anything. I walked up to the front porch of our ranch-style house and unlocked the front door.

"Bells?" called my dad from the kitchen.

"It's me, dad!" I called back. I shut and locked the door after Edward had come in after me.

My husky puppy, Sebastian, came running to me, yipping happily and I knelt to me him, temporarily forgetting Edward in my happiness. "Hey baby, how's it going?" I cooed as I picked him up. I was really happy to be home and I dropped my mask almost immediately. "Who's my good little puppy?" I sang as I danced around with him in my arms. He yipped happily in his squeaky little baby voice and licked my face. I laughed and kissed his little head adoringly. "That's right! You're my good boy!" I scratched him behind his pointed little ears and then adopted a mock-stern voice. "Now my good boy didn't have any accidents in the house, now did he?" He whimpered then licked my face. "No, no, don't try to distract me." I frowned, and let him down and he scampered off towards the kitchen. I turned back to Edward, suddenly aware of his existence again and that I had acted completely foolishly in front of him; my face was red. "Come on, you can leave your bag right there, next to the door."

He looked amused, a bit surprised, but happy. He followed me to the kitchen.

"Hey, daddy," I kissed his cheek. "You're not thinking about making dinner again are you? The last time you tried to warm up _leftovers_ you blew up the microwave."

He looked defensive. "I did _not_ blow it up," he started indignantly. "I set it on fire."

I snorted. "Yeah, like that's any different. How do you even get a microwave to do that? You don't have to cook, daddy, I've got it."

He sighed. "You do too much, Bells." He finally seemed to have noticed Edward. "Who's your friend?"

I waved my hand absently. "This is Edward Cullen, my Biology partner. We were going to work on our project today. That okay?" I asked.

"Oh, sure, sure. Go on ahead. Nice to meet you, son." He held out his hand to Edward and shook his hand.

"The pleasure's all mine, sir." Edward's voice was flawlessly polite, velvety and smooth. I grabbed a Coke from the fridge, to stop where my thoughts were leading, and took a swig.

"You want one?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Sure." I tossed him a can and turned to leave the kitchen. I went into the living room and collapsed onto the couch, kicking my Chucks off and curling my legs underneath me. Edward would follow me eventually.

**EPOV:**

After chatting a bit with Bella's father, I left her kitchen and found her in the living room on the couch, waiting for me apparently.

"Hey," I greeted her, and she looked up. "Mind if I sit?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Edward, I'm really going to make you stand for hours and hours on end."

I grinned at her. "Better to be safe than sorry." I said. "I'd rather get out of this alive, if you don't mind." She smiled briefly.

"So what do you want to do, play twenty questions or something?" She asked me.

I thought it over. "Why not? But let's make it interesting and set rules. Rule #1: no stupid, boring questions like what's your favorite color. Rule #2: No chickening out or avoiding questions. Rule#3—"

"No more rules?" Bella cut in. "Damn, Edward, this is twenty questions, not Monopoly. Start the game."

I smiled at her. She looked annoyed and disgruntled, like an angry kitten. It was cute. Now, what did I want to know about her? I went over the things I already knew about her. She loved roses, hated school, loved her puppy and her father, was a great athlete, and was _definitely_ not a slut. She was smart, liked to read, wrote poetry, was a great artist and was extremely cautious when it came to people.

I wondered what had made her so distrustful of people, but saved that question for another conversation. I settled on something simple.

"What do you do outside of school?"

She frowned, "Clean up around the house, read, shop, cook. I hang out at the park a lot; the trees are good inspiration for my artwork and Sebastian like's it there too."

An unfamiliar feeling rose in me. "Who's Sebastian?"

She gave me a dirty look. "That counts as your second question and Sebastian is my puppy."

At that, the weird feeling left, and I wondered what it had been. Suddenly, I heard a loud curse come from the kitchen, and then Bella's father as he yelled:

"Bella! Come get this pile of fur from out of here before it _kills_ me!"

She jumped up and went into the kitchen, and came out carrying Sebastian. She giggled. "You little idiot, running under daddy's feet that way; what, were you trying to get squashed to death?"

I watched her as she sat down with the puppy in her lap. Sebastian squirmed and wriggled around, wagging his tail and yipping excitedly while she tried to calm him down. I liked Bella this way, happy, giggling and playful. She had completely switched her personality around, had let the mask she hid behind at school drop and showed her true colors.

I was startled when she asked me her question. "What do _you_ like to do?"

I smiled at her again. "Oh, mostly the same things you do; I read and draw. I like to listen to music when I'm in a quiet mood, and I like to write. I play the piano a lot too and sometimes I compose my own music. My family and I go hiking often enough and my sister, Alice is constantly dragging us off on shopping trips," here, I shuddered, thinking of my crazy pixie of a sister. "Sometimes when Emmett, that's my oldest brother, has done something to really piss me and Jasper, my other brother, off, we team up against him and all three of us end up wrestling on the floor and Esme, my mom, totally flips." I smiled, remembering when Emmett had swung Jasper into the plasma TV in the living room and Esme screamed at them until they looked like their lives were flashing past their eyes.

Bella grinned. "Did she ground them?"

It was my turn to give _her_ a dirty look and she blushed. "That counts as the fourth question," I told her jokingly. She stuck her tongue out at me and grinned. "And yes, they were grounded until we got a new TV put in the living room, which took unnecessarily long, if you ask me. I think they did it on purpose."

Bella looked like she was deep in thought as she stroked her dog's fur. Sebastian had curled up on her lap by now and was now staring at me curiously with his nose on his paws. Bella noticed me watching the puppy. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked me

"Sure," I said, nodding and holding my arms out for him. She picked him up carefully around his midsection and handed him to me. His fur was soft and his tail wagged as he licked my hand. I scratched him behind his ears, and he stood on his hind legs in my lap and put his paws on my chest; he licked my face.

Bella laughed. "He likes you." Sebastian barked excitedly, his tail wagging furiously as if to commemorate her statement.

"He's cute," I said. I ruffled the fur on his head affectionately.

"Usually dogs can tell a good person from a bad one. I wonder if he's right?" She murmured the last part to herself, as if I wasn't meant to hear, and once again, I wondered what had happened to her.

"Um, Bella?" I started a bit timidly.

She looked up, her brown eyes wide. "Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Her eyes hardened just the tiniest bit and I almost backed off. "That depends."

"I don't mean to pry," I started again.

"Then don't." She said shortly.

I ignored her. "What happened to you?" I asked her quietly.

Her walls came back almost immediately and I inwardly cursed my stupidity. To my surprise, she answered. "I was hurt, badly." She got up abruptly and Sebastian leaped off my lap to follow her. I sighed. I always managed to screw shit up right when things were okay.

**BPOV:**

I had to leave and get away before the tears started to fall in front of him. I'd liked talking to Edward. He was polite, nice, sweet and caring with no ulterior motive behind his kindness, but then he'd asked me about my past. I went up to my room with Sebastian on my heels and sobbed silently. I heard someone come up the stairs and wiped my face quickly, to put on a cheery face for my dad, but it wasn't Charlie who came to the door.

"Bella? Are you okay?" It was Edward, peeking in my door, his glorious green eyes worried.

I swallowed. "I'm fine. What are you doing in my room?" I tried to sound indifferent, but my voice broke on the last word. And he came into my room.

"No, you're not fine. I'm sorry, Bella. I won't bring it up again if you like." He looked so earnest and sad that I burst into tears right in front of him. That's right. I-just- don't-care-mess-with-me-and-you're-dead-badass-Bella was blubbering like a baby and making those little kitten sounds in front of a guy she hardly knew. But at that moment, I just didn't care and instead of leaving, like any sane guy would, Edward came and put his arms around me. I was shaking and whimpering and he just held me. I had tensed up at first, but relaxed and cried into his shoulder eventually.

I didn't know how long I cried or how long he held me, but eventually I quieted down and pulled away, wiping my face. My cheeks burned.

"Sorry about that," I said, looking down. "It doesn't happen often and I haven't cried since it happened. I guess it was bound to happen sometime. I'm sorry I ruined your shirt." I said it as an explanation, apologetically.

Edward raised my chin with a gentle hand until I was looking into his eyes.

"Don't apologize and screw my shirt. It was something you needed to let out. _I'm_ sorry for bringing it up."

I averted my eyes. "You shouldn't have seen that."

He put his hands on either side of my face. "We're friends now. I won't _ever_ judge or leave you and I won't ever ask for more than you can give me. You can trust me, Bella."

**A/N: And sorry people, this is the end of this chapter. I think you'll like where this goes. First they progress to a VERY close friendship, the bitches and hoes get jealous, bad things happen, love blooms and to all you Team Jacob people out there, you will hate me forever! I love reviews and I will definitely make sure I get the next chapter out soon, and by soon, I don't mean two months from now. (still sorry for that) Love ya people!**

**-Sirena32 xoxo **


	6. Indescision

**A/N: Hey guys, Sirena32 here. Yeah I'm back again. Sorry for the wait, but I've been lazy and busy and just not here. Sorry :( **

**Anyway here's the sixth chapter, hope ya like it!**

**Love all you guys!**

**-Sirena32 xoxo**

Indecision

**Bella's POV:**

I woke up on the floor with my covers wrapped around me as usual. I sat up, running my hand through my hair, which was in near impossible tangles, and took my clock down from my nightstand to look at the time. I was sure my alarm hadn't rung yet and as I looked at the time, I found I was right. It was ten to five in the morning. I decided I might as well get up since there were only ten minutes until my alarm rang. Turning the alarm off, I pulled myself up from the floor via my bed, and threw my covers onto it.

I dragged myself into the shower then went through my usual morning routine, brushing my teeth, washing my hair, blow drying my hair and leaving the bathroom in a towel. In my room, I pulled on light-washed skinny jeans with large rips and tears on my thighs, my knees, shins and little slashes on the back of my legs on my calves with my knee-high converse boots. I put on a dark blue fitted T-shirt that said '_Question Authority_' on it in light purple cursive on the front. The shirt was a V-neck and exposed the winged pendant I always wore underneath my shirt. It was shaped like a pair of white wings and shined with a pearly luminescence. I pulled my hair into a high pony-tail, put my messenger bag on my shoulder, and left for school.

When I got out of my truck a few minutes later, Edward, who had been leaning against his car apparently waiting for me a second before, had magically appeared at my side.

"Hey," he said, his velvety voice low, but cheery. His hair was its usual sexy mess and his eyes were bright and shining.

"You are _way_ too happy today," I said by way of greeting.

He glanced at my face and registered my frown. "A cheery face is worth diamonds, Bella. Smile."

"No."

" Please, Bella? Pretty please with a cherry on the top?" He begged, poking his bottom lip out and opening his eyes wide.

"Why?" I asked him, genuinely curious as well as vaguely irritated.

"Because I've made making you happy my main priority," He said matter-of-factly. "I am officially completely devoted to you." He said it jokingly but I could see the seriousness in his eyes.

"You're not joking are you?" I asked him, alarmed.

"Nope," he replied, popping the –p. "And the way to start is to get you to smile more. Now smile, or I'll see if you're ticklish." He threatened me. I felt my eyes narrow.

"I'd _love_ for you to try," I said dangerously. "Try to touch me and I'll knock you back to whatever delusional planet you came from, Cullen."

Suddenly he stopped in front of me and dropped to his knees with his hands clasped. "Pppppppllllllleeeeaaasssseee_, _Bella?" Where other people would have looked either stupid or disturbed in that position, Edward looked adorable with his bottom lip out and his big green eyes gazing at me imploringly.

"Get up!" I hissed at him. "You look ridiculous!" _That_ was a big fat lie and I became even more aware of that fact when his eyes narrowed the tiniest bit and crinkled at the corners and the side of his mouth turned up into a crooked mischievous smile.

"I'm going to stay like this until you smile, or, y'know, if you want to do this the _embarrassing _way, I can always wait until the middle of class and do this in front of _everyone_. The choice is up to you. Oh, and if you don't smile now, I'll follow you around all day on my knees until you do."

I groaned. Why didn't I know what I was getting myself into when in told him we could be friends? Why had I agreed at all? Had it been the gloriously green orbs he called eyes? Or his caring personality? Curse my weakness for sweet guys!

"Fine, you idiot," I snapped. I pulled the corners of my mouth up and bared my teeth at him. Then I tilted my head to the side and batted my eyelashes. "There, are you happy?" I asked sweetly. "Goodbye," I pushed past him and continued on my way to the classroom, leaving him behind, if only temporarily.

**Edward's POV:**

She pushed past me and continued to class without me. Well, she'd bared her teeth at me like a wild thing. It was a start. I got to my feet and slung my backpack over one shoulder and started after her. I'd decided last night that I would do whatever it took to fix Bella, whether she wanted to be fixed or not. I'd help her whenever she needed help, protect her when she needed protecting and be whatever she needed me to be. I would be her guardian angel in a way. It was way cheesy, I know, and there was no way I thought myself good enough or worthy enough to be an angel of any sort, but it fit better than 'bodygaurd'.

I walked to first period English and thought about what I'd decided to show Bella after school. It was a place I went to think or to just get away from my four other siblings when things got too noisy. Maybe it would help her clear her mind.

As I was about to walk into the classroom door, Jessica suddenly blocked my way. She was wearing a really short, tight skirt and really low-cut blouse. When I tried to inhale, I nearly gagged and choked on the extremely strong sickly sweet smell emanating from her. She smiled at me and tried to bat her eyelashes at me. She ended up looking like she had some kind of disorder. Her face looked like it had about an inch of makeup on it. She put a hand on my arm and smiled again, stepping closer to me.

"Hey Edward," She said quietly. "You look tense," Did I? Well I had a whore flirting with me, of course I was tense. "Want me to rub your shoulders for you?" She continued, trying to sound seductive. "After all, I would be _very_ good at helping you _relax_." She whispered the last part in my ear and I could feel her hot breath on me. I shuddered in abhorrence, internally as well as externally.

"Um, as great as that sounds, Jessica, I'm going to have to turn you down," I tried to say as politely as possible. How do you turn a whore down when she doesn't know what she is?

She pouted. "Aaww, come on Eddie, you can do _way_ better than _Isabella_." She said Bella's full name like it was something repulsive that you would find on the bottom of your shoe.

"I don't think I could find anyone better than _Bella_—" I said her name like a caress, soft and lovingly, just to annoy her, "she's one of a kind. If you would excuse me." I moved around her and stepped into the classroom. Bella was seated at the back as usual, by herself. She was engrossed in a book and her expression was distant and amused, as if she found something in the story funny. I went down the aisle in the class and went to sit next to her.

"What are you doing?" She asked testily, not looking up from her book.

"Sitting down," I replied, nonchalantly.

"No you're not, not here."

"Oh, but I am, Bella," I told her sweetly. "In fact, I'm not going to leave your side today. Think of me as your protector or personal servant for the time being." I smirked.

She exhaled violently. "I don't need or want a body guard and I don't need or want a slave."

"I believe I used the words 'protector' and 'servant'. Bodygaurds wear all black and shades and usually carry guns and slaves usually wear nothing but loincloths. Trust me, I'm _not_ going anywhere _near_ that road." I grinned at her.

She finally looked at me. "Don't try to be cute,"

"I don't need to try, Bella, to be the way I was born." My grin was cheeky now and her mouth twitched like she wanted to smile. Score!

**Bella's POV:**

Edward followed me around _all day long. _I couldn't get away from him and trust me, I tried. I hid behind the bleachers in gym, ditched lunch and went to the library, hid in the girl's bathroom during biology, and tried to spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office. He still found me. Being rude didn't work and neither did being cold and hateful. I couldn't hit him or injure him in any way because he never touched me and to make things worse, he kept trying to 'cheer me up', as he put it. I was perfectly happy being miserable, thank-you very much and I didn't need him to be my personal rainbow-servant-slash-bodyguard.

I had made it to my truck and guess who was there with me? You guessed it, none other than the green-eyed, stubborn, idiotic, moronic, beastly, charming, gorgeous, annoying bane of my existence himself. Am I special or what?

"Sooo," he started, trailing off and leaving his sentence open. I waited for him to say something about my lack of good humor and when he didn't elaborate, I turned to him in annoyance.

"So, what?" I said sharply. I had opened the car door and was leaning back against the driver's seat. The door was between us, but something about him really made me feel the lack of personal space. "And back up some," I added. "I don't like being crowded."

He took one step back and it didn't help at all. "There's something I want to show you in the woods near my house. Nobody but me knows about it, but I go there when I need to get away from everything and whenever I need to think. I wanted to show it to you today."

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. "Let me get this straight," I said disbelieving. "_You_ want _me_ to go with _you_, a guy a just met a few days ago and don't know anything about, to a place in the woods somewhere near your house that _nobody_ but _you_ knows about? Do you even hear what's wrong with that?"

He shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. "You won't end up in a body bag and buried somewhere off the coast of Puerto Rico, If that's what you're worried about. Even if you did, they would trace the murder back to me anyway because I'm always following you around."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "Oh, so you've thought about this?"

"Not really, it just seemed a bit obvious to me," He replied, running a hand through his hair in a characteristic gesture. "If I _really_ wanted to kill you, I'd hire someone to do it for me and make sure I was far away at some extremely crowded location where tons of people could see me, like a party."

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't helping your case, you know."

He sighed, "Okay, well how about this. You're Bella Swan. You drink blood with your Lucky Charms, you kick guys in the sac for _fun_, you can wrestle football players to the ground and pin them there while hitting them repeatedly anywhere it hurts and you're worried about something I won't even do?"

The kid had a point, I'd give him that. I could take care of myself whether it became necessary or not. So I did the crazy thing and climbed into my truck, slamming the door.

"Are you getting in, or am I following you?" I asked, none too nicely. He came to my window and leaned on my door.

"You're following me," he said, unable to keep the smugness out of his tone. I rolled my eyes and revved the engine of my truck.

"Drive slow," I told him, "Grandpa Chevy isn't what he used to be."

His brow furrowed in confusion for a millisecond. "Gran—Oh, your truck," his face cleared and the frown was replaced by a smirk. "You sure he won't break down on the way there?"

I stomped on the accelerator in response and my truck immediately responded, leaving Edward pitching forward towards the ground before he caught himself. "Don't lean against my truck," I told him, unable to keep the grin off my face. "I'm the only one allowed to do that."

The drive to his place was long and the roads were twisted, but it was worth it when I caught sight of his house. It was a huge two story, sprawling, mansion-like place. It was the embodiment of simple elegance with bright white walls and the porch supported by two columns and with its mix of Ancient Greek, Roman and modern architecture. On one side of the house, glass made up an entire wall and the sun reflected off of it brightly, like diamond. The roof was made of ebony shingles and the giant windows were rimmed with black as well. To finish it all off, the place was set in the middle of a clearing of tall, dark trees and the forest feel gave the place an atmosphere of magic and enchantment. It was like stumbling upon a castle in the woods in a fairytale where the beautiful princess marries the gorgeous prince and everyone lives happily ever after. The difference was, I wasn't a princess, Edward wasn't my prince, and this wasn't my castle. Oh well, I'm not entirely sure the whole 'damsel in distress' thing would work for me anyway.

I stared up at the house with my mouth hanging open for about thirty seconds before I remembered to shut it. I parked my car in front of the house and killed the engine.

When I got out, I straightened my tee shirt and pulled my pony-tail over my shoulder in a characteristically nervous gesture. Edward walked over to me while his family got out of his car and went into the giant—I refuse to call it a house.

"Little change of plans," He started and I raised my eyebrows warily.

"Yeah?"

"My family's decided that they want to meet you, well everyone except Rose, but she doesn't really count." There he was looking sheepish and embarrassed again. Ah, well. I guess having family be overenthusiastic about meeting your friends was embarrassing for anyone.

"Ouch, that's cold, brother," A lilting voice said from behind him. "You better not let her hear you say that." The speaker was an extremely petite, delicate-looking girl, with a smooth creamy complexion and spiky black hair. She was very pretty and had big green eyes identical to her brother's. She turned to me and smiled, holding her hand out. "Hi, I'm Alice, Edward's twin. I hope he hasn't been irritating you to death. Honestly, I wish I could trade him in sometimes and get a sister instead."

"Um, hello? Still here," Edward waved his hand in her face and she grinned at me again.

I ignored him. "He _has _been a bit unbearable, but hey, most guys are." I shook her hand. "Bella Swan," I introduced myself.

She smiled at me again. "I like you, Bella." She turned to her brother, "She tells it like it is, has style and that 'I just don't care' feel to her. I'm telling you, I'm looking at my future best friend here!" She sang the last part happily and skipped, yes _skipped_ away.

Edward turned back to me after watching her as she left. "Before you find out any other way or run away screaming because you think we're a bunch of incest freaks, let me just say that we're _all_ adopted. Alice and I are the only two actually related along with Jasper and Rosalie. Alice is with Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett are together, though. Clear?"

"As mud," I replied sweetly just to annoy him. Of course I understood, not that I really cared.

He rolled his eyes then took my arm to lead me to the house. I shook him off and he glanced sideways at me. "Be _nice_,"

I smiled charmingly at him. "I'm always nice," I told him. On the porch, he opened the door for me and ushered me into the foyer. He led me into the kitchen where a pretty woman was cooking something that smelled _heavenly_ on the stove.

She looked up and smiled at us as we came in. "Hello sweetheart, how was your day?" She asked Edward.

He shrugged. "It was okay," he went over and kissed her cheek. "Mom, this is Bella, a friend of mine."

She beamed at me. "Nice to meet you Bella,"

I smiled back at her, liking her immediately. "The pleasure's all mine, Mrs. Cullen."

"Esme," She said, correcting me. "Call me Esme. 'Mrs. Cullen' makes me feel old," She laughed and I couldn't help but laugh with her. This woman had nothing to worry about when it came aging. She could be sixty years old and still look like a model.

"Okay…Esme." I said. Just then, Edward's big, body builder-looking brother came down the stairs followed closely by the tall blond one with Rosalie screaming behind the both of them.

"Mom! I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" Emmett was shouting as he ran down the stairs. He was coming down fast and unsurprisingly managed to trip on something I couldn't see and ended up rolling down the stairs. The blond boy, Jasper, I assumed, tripped over Emmett and brought Rosalie down with him when he grasped wildly at her, trying to save himself. They all landed in a tangled heap of flaying arms and legs and lots of curses and moans on the floor.

Edward covered his eyes tiredly with his hand and dragged it down his face. "Bella," he said, "meet my siblings. Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie."

**A/N: ****Ooh, cliffy. Hey guys, hope you liked it. I tried to make it longer, this is eleven pages. Tell me what you think. Is it going to fast, too slow, too predictable, too lame? Tell me, I live for reviews and I need you guys' help if you want to enjoy it. Give me some prank ideas, outfit ideas and some smart aleck remarks. I know I haven't been very nice, but review!**

**xoxo Sirena32**


	7. Cold

**A/N: ****IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'mmmmmmmmmmmm ! ****didja miss me? Here I am with the seventh chappy. You guys better love me for this. Here, Bella and Edward get closer and there is a totally unseen turn of events. I NEED REVIEWS! C'mon people DIG DEEP! Love ya!**

**-xoxo Sirena32**

Cold

**BPOV:**

We didn't go to the place Edward was telling me about simply because it got too late. Esme kept me for dinner which turned out to be the most AMAZING chicken and bell pepper stew and then Alice persuaded me to stay longer for movie night. When I said I would, Emmett picked me up in a bone crushing hug and swung me around until Edward told him that he was killing me. Emmett really was just a big teddy bear.

At the end of the movie, I stood up and announced that I really had to get home because I hadn't told Charlie where I'd be.

"Oh, okay," Alice told me, at last giving in. "But you have to come back _soon_," She stressed.

I smiled at her. "Cross my heart,"

"Or _die_." She said giggling. Making a face at her, I turned to Esme.

"Thankyou so much Esme, for having me."

"Think nothing of it dear," She said kindly. "Edward will walk you out." She nodded towards him and he stood up, stretching.

"Of course," He led to me to the door and even walked me out to my truck. It was really dark out and the woods that had seemed enchanted before now seemed creepy at night and I was glad of the company.

"Your family is amazing," I said, because I couldn't help but believe that it was true.

He shrugged. "I guess. I don't know what we look like to someone on the outside looking in." He stood with his hands in his pockets, his hair falling in his face. Without thinking, I reached out and brushed it out of his eyes. It was extremely soft and silky, cool to the touch and I wanted to run my hands through it properly, but I quickly snatched my hand back as if it had burned me. Get a hold of yourself Bella, I scolded myself.

He looked surprised for a second then he smiled softly, wistfully and moved closer to me, forcing me up against my truck. He leaned his face closer to mine and my heart started sprinting and pounding so hard in my chest that it started to hurt. I inhaled sharply and _that_ was a mistake since his scent overwhelmed my thought processes.

I was open, I realized. That was why he could get to me this way. I quickly retreated into my icy fortress. I opened my eyes and stared Edward down.

"If you only walked me out here to kiss me, you've got another thing coming, buddy." I told him, my eyes narrowing. Instead of answering, he brought his hand up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, then trailed his hand down my neck, to my shoulder, down my arm until he came to my hand. He held it and brought it to his lips and kissed it softly. Still holding my hand, he leaned closer, to my ear.

"We're going to be great friends, Bella." He whispered, sending shivers down my spine and tickling my ear with his cool breath. His hand was warm and the trail he'd traced down my arm was tingling pleasantly. I had been paralyzed this whole time, my resolve to not let him in again, crumbling. Before I could say or do anything, Edward let go of my hand, leaving it cold without his warmth, and turned and walked away.

Over the next few weeks, I gradually opened up to Edward, becoming more kindly and gentle towards him. I began to tell him things, to confide in him and to trust him. He scarcely ever left my side and I enjoyed his company. He was witty, intelligent, charming and very protective. He was my guardian angel, my best friend, and my personal bit of sunshine every day. Before, his problem had been getting me to smile more. Now, it was getting me to smile less. I was that happy. When I was with him at least.

At night, I went to sleep afraid the nightmares would come back, but feverishly hoping they wouldn't. My hopes were in vain. I woke up screaming, tears sliding down my cheeks every morning and eventually I took to staying awake most of the night to avoid my dream hell. I became haunted-looking and pale. There were dark circles underneath my eyes and I was forever tired, but too afraid to sleep. I was becoming weaker and weaker as the ghosts from my past came back to haunt me. I would never deserve happiness for as long as I lived.

Of course it didn't help that Edward began to notice. "Bella, what's wrong?" he asked me the moment I opened my car door. He took my hand and helped me out of my truck and I fell against him as my legs momentarily gave way beneath me. His arms wrapped around my waist as he supported my weight.

I pulled back and looked away from him, avoiding his gaze. "I'm fine," I said, unconvincingly.

He reached out and gently caught my chin, turning it towards him. "Bella, you're not fine," he said softly. I stared up at him, terrified of revealing _that_ secret, of losing him forever. I didn't want him to know, but I was so close to pouring my heart out. "Tell me," he breathed. Just as I opened my mouth, the warning bell rang, telling us that it was time to get to first period. Talk about saved by the bell.

All day I worked at appearing upbeat and cheery, trying to be my usual self. I laughed and joked and teased Edward and Alice. During fourth period gym, Edward and I finished our thirty laps around the gym in record time and were allowed to sit on the bleachers while the rest of our classmates continued to run. Edward collapsed onto his back, throwing an arm over his face. "I'm beat," He said. "What was that? Two miles? Three?"

"A mile an a half," I said, coming over to sit next him. I picked up his head and put it on my lap and looked down at him, my pony-tail falling over my shoulder and tickling his cheek. "I thought you said you could run five miles with ease, but look at you, half dead over only one," I ran my hands through his hair, enjoying the way it curled around my fingers.

"And a half," He added indignantly. "Besides," He continued, "When running, you're supposed to maintain one speed the whole time. It's hard for me to pace myself when you're constantly dragging me into a race." It was true. I had jogged up to him and stayed with him for a while, then jogged past him and as he ran to catch up with me I had run faster and faster until we were full on sprinting, trying to beat each other to the end. Needless to say, it was a tie.

"Touché," I said, still playing with his hair. I leaned back against the bleachers and closed my eyes, sighing. Unsurprisingly, I saw the imprint of the leading man in my nightmares on the insides of my lids and quickly opened my eyes. Edward must have felt me jump suddenly because he opened his eyes and stared at me as if he was trying to read my mind. "You fell asleep?" I asked him playfully, trying to distract him from me. "I guess I was too much for ya after all," I laughed.

"Bella, what's wrong?" He asked quietly, his soft voice cutting my laughter short. I looked down, a reflex move as well as a mistake, considering the fact that Edward was looking up at me from my lap and it was easy to get caught in that gaze.

"Nothing," I said, trailing my finger down his nose. "Just some bad dreams I've been having. Nothing serious."

"Bella, guess what?" he said, sitting up.

"What?" I answered half-heartedly.

"You're a crap liar," I looked down at my hands but he lifted my chin with his fingers, gently, and I was again caught in his kindly eyes. "But I'm okay with that."

"Thank you," I told him, meaning it with every fiber of my being. I was really truly grateful to him for being here for me, knowing I was lying through my teeth and accepting it until I was ready to talk to him about it, and for being my friend.

"Anything for you," He told me sweetly, smiling my favorite crooked smile. He cupped my cheek with his hand and I leaned into him closing my eyes for a moment before opening them again and smiling at him. I looked away from him to see Jessica, Lauren and every other slut in the book staring daggers at me. I smiled benevolently at them and blew a kiss. Skanks.

"You're so mean," Edward said, chuckling. Oops, must have said that out loud.

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" I said, spreading my hands out in front of me. "I'm naturally aggressive."

"You're lying again," Edward sang and I smacked his arm.

Later, after school, Edward was walking me to my truck when I saw a flyer on one of the school walls for the Winter Ball next Saturday. "Well _that's_ something else to add to my list of 'Things I'm Not Going To'." I said, mostly to myself.

Edward glanced at the paper, then back to me. "Won't you come?" he asked.

"Did you not just hear me say I wasn't?"

"Come on, Bella, _please_, you've got to come." He begged me.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Because Alice is forcing us all to go and I'll be bored to death without you." He pulled the puppy dog eyes on me.

I smiled at him. "So not working and I'm so not going."

"If you go, you'll get a favor in return," He wheedled at me.

Five, four, three, two, one… "Okay, okay," I gave, "I'll go, but you're driving me."

"Great! I'll pick you up at eight." He grinned mischievously at me, before jogging to his car.

Saturday night, found me in a ridiculous dress, wearing ridiculous shoes, getting ready to go to a ridiculous dance. I fidgeted and paced, waiting for Edward to show up. Finally, the doorbell rang and instead of finding Edward, Alice was at the door looking gorgeous in a black ball gown.

"Sorry it's just me, but Carlisle, held Edward up," She said, smiling apologetically.

I smiled at her and hugged her. "It's fine," I told her. I did a little spin. "Do I look okay?"

Alice raised her eyebrows. "Okay? You want to know if you look _okay_? Bella, you look freaking _amazing_!" She squealed and hugged me again. "I knew I'd made a good choice when I decided to make you my best friend!"

I patted her hair and laughed. "I love you too, Ally."

**EPOV:**

I was at the dance, by the punch table, wondering where on earth Bella was. I had sent Alice to pick her up for me since I was held up at home and was now worried as I watched the stairs.

The dance was being held in the ballroom in Fork's only decent hotel, L'Hotel De La Rue. The Street Hotel. Don't ask me why. Maybe the builders or whoever named the place wanted it to sound French and fancy, but didn't know a word of French. Whatever. Anyway, the whole place was decorated to look like winter. The lights were flashing different shades of a wintry blue, delicate looking white snowflakes hung from the ceiling and fake snow covered the stage where a band was playing. Dry ice fog covered the dance floor and almost everything else. The overall effect was nice and pretty.

"Looking for someone?" A voice asked behind me. I spun hopefully, only to find that it was only Alice. Wait, Alice?

"Alice where's Bella?" I asked, searching the crowd for anything I'd missed. Just as she was about to answer, everyone went silent, including the band playing onstage. Alice smiled at me.

"She's over there," She said, pointing towards the stairs leading from the lobby. Every face was turned in shock towards the girl floating down the stairs.

She wore a dark blue gown that clung to her slender form like a second skin before flowing out gracefully past her feet. The straps sat just off her shoulders almost not interrupting the flow of her collarbone to her shoulders. Her neck was long and graceful and her skin was the smoothest ivory touched by just a shade of pink, like peaches and cream. Her hair flowed down in loose curls, dark against her fair skin. The overall effect as she glided down the steps was enchantingly beautiful.

"Bella?" I whispered in disbelief. Her descent came to an end and as she looked around the room searchingly, I vaguely wondered who she could be looking for before I mentally kicked myself in disgust at my stupidity. Of course she was searching for me. I jolted into action, weaving my way through the crowd to get to her.

Everyone stared as I strode up to her and she smiled as I took her hand and kissed it. Maybe I was overdoing the handsome prince thing just a bit, but at that moment, I really didn't care.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked her softly.

She grinned up at me. "Not particularly, but let's."

Still holding her hand, I led her to the dance floor as the band started up again, singing a song from Fools for Rowan called Dead. I put my hand on her waist as people cleared the floor and she put her hand in mine.

_If I could borrow, all my tomorrows  
Spend them all today I'm sure I'd find a way to get you back  
But my frustration, desperation  
Is causing me to wither underneath a sky turned black  
It hurts to breathe, I can't believe, I have to face the moment that I_

We spun around the floor together, Bella holding the flowing gown of her dress out of the way with one hand and holding my hand with the other. She was warm in my arms and she smelled like lilac and freesia.

DREAD, WE'RE DEAD, WE'RE OVER,  
OVER JUST LIKE THAT  
THE LOVE IS GONE, GONE FOREVER  
AND IT'S NOT COMIN' BACK

I leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear. "You look beautiful," She flushed a delicate pink and looked up at me, a small smile playing around her mouth.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She said.

_Your heart and my heart, you ripped them apart_  
_But there's still pieces of you that you've gone and left behind_  
_You don't want me, but you still haunt me_  
_I lie awake cause I'm afraid that if I close my eyes_  
_I'll see your face, feel that pain, the pain I felt the moment that you_

As we spun around the floor, other couples gradually began to join us. First my family, Alice with Jasper and Emmett with Rosalie then other couples.

SAID, WE'RE DEAD, WE'RE OVER,  
OVER JUST LIKE THAT  
THE LOVE IS GONE, GONE FOREVER  
AND IT'S NOT COMIN' BACK

_And it hurts to breathe, I can't believe, I close my eyes but I just can't forget_  
_I see your face, feel the pain, the pain I felt the moment that you_

I spent the rest of the dance caught in Bella's deep, brown eyes, getting lost in the

velvety chocolate as the song ended and everyone clapped.

SAID, WE'RE DEAD, WE'RE OVER,  
OVER JUST LIKE THAT  
THE LOVE IS GONE, GONE FOREVER  
AND IT'S NOT COMIN' BACK

She woke up first from the daze that had befallen the both of us and let go of my hand. I dropped mine from her waist.

"Do you want to get something to drink?" She asked me.

I smiled warmly at her. "Why not?"

Later that night, I'd just shaken off Jessica, who had forced me into a dance with her, when I started looking for Bella. I searched the entire ballroom for her, but couldn't find her until I saw her leaning against the balcony rail outside in the chilly night air in her thin, backless gown without a jacket or coat on. Sighing, I went and slid the sliding glass door open and stepped out onto the balcony, closing it behind me. "Bella?"

She didn't stir, didn't look up. Instead, she stared straight ahead at the stars and the night sky. The moon was large and full and partly covered by wispy clouds. The air was freezing and by a miracle alone there was no rain. It was so cold you could see your breath.

"Bella what are you doing out here with no jacket?" I said, taking my suit jacket off to put it around her shoulders. "You'll freeze to death."

"You don't have to give me your jacket, Edward, I'm fine." She said finally, still looking at the sky, her breath puffing out in front of her.

"Don't be ridiculous," I told her, putting it around her shoulders, despite her protests. Good God, she was _freezing_! I put my hands on her shoulders and attempted to rub some warmth into them while she grasped the edges of my jacket closer to herself.

"Cold is good," She said, as if speaking from a dream. "The cold is safe. It feels so…nice out here, opening up and surrendering." She continued while I stared at her, speechless. "It's cleansing…_pure_. Just imagine, letting the wind freeze my soul. Wouldn't it be wonderful?" She spoke almost as if she were in love, dreamy and soft while I stared at her in horror. Then she started to cry, pretty little diamonds, sliding down her cheeks. "It hurts," she whimpered, crying. "Feeling hurts."

I wrapped my arms around her, trying to keep her warm as well as comfort her and she buried her face in my chest and sobbed. I didn't know what to do, but I desperately _needed_ to do _something_. Anything.

"Bella," I pleaded. "Tell me how I can fix this,"

"I keep seeing it happen," she gasped. "over and over, no matter what I do. I keep seeing them Edward!"

"What? What do you keep seeing?" I asked, desperation filling my voice.

She looked up at me, her eyes big and soulful, shining with tears and exhaustion. "My dreams," she whispered.

**BPOV:**

Edward took me home after the dance and because I was afraid to be left alone, I asked him to come in with me. Charlie was over at Billy's place since I'd told him I'd be out late and he was most-likely going to spend the night.

I flipped on the lights in every room I passed and then went up the stairs to my room with Edward following me. While he waited for me in my room, I took a quick shower then put on a baggy t-shirt and pajama pants. My hair fell down my back, still slightly damp after its washing as I stepped back into my room.

"Edward could you stay with me a bit longer? You can shower if you like; My dad has some old clothes that might fit you." I asked, still a bit trembly and shaky from my episode at the dance. Everything had just come crashing down on me, making me feel tortured and lost with no chances or escape.

Edward studied my expression for a moment before nodding. "Okay." I went to my dad's room and grabbed Edward some clothes before going back to my room.

He took a quick shower and emerged, my dad's clothes slightly large on him. I giggled at him, momentarily distracted from the TV. He grinned at me and held his arms out, turning around slowly, modeling for me.

"How do I look?" He asked, managing to keep a straight face. I, however, failed and busted out laughing. "Better not answer that, then." He said, chuckling along with me.

He sat next to me on my bed and I tucked my legs underneath me and leaned against him. He put his arm around me and we watched a few scary movies that were actually quite laughable until I began to doze off.

Edward of course, noticed me going limp against his side. "Bella get in bed, you're exhausted."

I shook my head stubbornly and found myself being lifted up in two strong arms. Edward put me under my covers and as he tried to pull away, I held onto his shirt. "If I have to sleep, I want you to stay with me," My eyes were closing, but I struggled to stay awake, knowing that I wouldn't be able to sleep dreamlessly unless he was there with me.

His brow furrowed. "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"It's what I need," I told him.

He nodded. "Okay," he pulled the covers back and climbed into bed with me. He lay tensed up until I curled up against his side. He put his arms around me. "Is this okay?" he whispered. I nodded and buried my face in his chest, just glad to be held. He was warm and comforting and just _there_. I felt safe in his arms. For the first time in weeks, I slept, unbothered by my nightmares.

**A/N: And I hope you guys love me again! What do you think? I've been working hard on this you guys. This is THIRTEEN whole pages! I NEED REVIEWS! I'm going to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Love you guys!**

**-xoxo Sirena32**


	8. PPPPLLLLLLLEAAASSSSSSSSEEEE REVIEW!

**A/N:**** Don't worry people, I'm not quitting this story. I'm just asking for some reviews. Sure, I get a lot of author and story alerts and favorite story/author thingamajigees, and I TOTALLY appreciate all of that but people PLEASE review my story. The more reviews I get the faster the next chapter comes out! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! lot's of love**

**-xoxo Sirena32**


	9. Gaurdian Angel

**A/N: **** Hi guys, Sirena32 here with the eighth chapter! Come on, love me? Love me not? Of course you love me! Trust me you guys, I've been working hard to get these totally freaking awesome chappys out! It hasn't been easy, and it definitely wasn't easy getting this one out since my computer has a virus and I'm using my dad's laptop to type this, but hey, what are ya gonna do? You just gotta roll with it baby! Love ya and REVIEW!**

**-xoxo Sirena32**

Guardian Angel

**BPOV:**

Warmth. That was my first sensation. I was wrapped in a dark cocoon of warmth. Next I realized that I was being held and that it was this hold that caused the warmth. I was curled up against a body, my face buried in a chest. _Edward_, my mind whispered. And then I remembered. The dance, the music, the balcony…

I wanted to stay here forever. I breathed in deeply and opened my eyes. Darkness. We were under the covers and I could feel his steady heart beating under my cheek. I yawned and shifted, getting closer to him. His arms tightened around my waist as he woke up and I pushed the covers from off my face.

I looked up at him and saw that his hair was falling over his face. He looked down at me and smiled. "Good morning, Beautiful."

I tried to sit up, but his arms restrained me. "I'm going to choose to ignore that. I always look horrible in the morning."

"'Thou shalt not lie', Bella, and I don't." He replied, grinning. "And you didn't see yourself at the dance last night," he continued. "I did. You were radiant." Now I was blushing furiously. Great. I hid my face in his chest, but he shifted himself lower in the bed so that we were face to face. "I've made you blush," he said, his eyes studying my face. Then something in his eyes flamed, and he leaned closer to me, slowly. Again, I was frozen and my eyes drifted shut, my lips parting slightly.

Suddenly, his body tensed and went rigid before he pulled away. The flaming in his eyes was gone, replaced by a sad look that I didn't understand, before he smiled my favorite crooked grin. "We should do something today," He said.

I sat up and ran a hand through my hair. His arms had loosened, but they still rested on my waist, as if he didn't want to let go. The sun shined through the curtains onto the floor. It would be warm out today. "Why don't we go to the beach today?"

"Sounds good to me," he stood up, stretching, then leaned down and kissed my forehead. "See ya soon, Beautiful." What was I going to do with him?

After I showered, I threw on some dark wash skinny jeans, a dark blue tee that showed my right shoulder and my converse boots over my bathing suit, and went downstairs for some breakfast. I was just finishing a bowl of cereal when I heard a knock at the door.

"Miss me?" Edward asked with a cocky grin. He was wearing a dark blue V-neck with jeans and, as usual, he was gorgeous with his bronze hair in its signature sexy disarray.

"Not much," I lied smoothly. "Come on in, Goldylocks."

He snorted and rolled his eyes, which, on anyone else, would have been incredibly unattractive, but on him, it was cute. Briefly I wondered if he could pull anything off and make it look hot. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?" I asked him. "If you're hungry, we've got cereal, cereal and cereal."

He shook his head. "No thanks," He looked at me. "You ready to go?"

I grabbed a beach towel and a blanket and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "I am now."

"Great, let's go." He held the door open for me as I walked out the door, then again as I got into his car. As usual, he drove like a maniac, roaring down the roads and screeching through turns. Driving extra fast just because he could. How typical of him. While I held on to my seatbelt for dear life and clenched my stomach to keep from ruining the Volvo's interior with an unexpected visit from my breakfast, he sat in his seat completely relaxed, face at ease, barely paying attention to the cars in front of him. Because looking out of any of the windows was disconcerting and made my head spin and there was nowhere else to look, I focused on him, which happened to be a major mistake. Not because of me, but because of his ginormous ego.

"See something you like, sweetheart?" he asked, smirking.

"Not particularly, just a blind maniac behind the wheel of a very fast car." I replied dryly.

"Blind?"

"There must be a reason you can't abide by the speed limit," I answered innocently.

"We aren't going to crash, Bella."

"Wanna bet?" I challenged.

"Not really," He conceded.

"Then slow down,"

"Not a chance!" He turned and grinned at me.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I shouted, momentarily panicked.

"You worry too much, Bells,"

"And you don't worry enough, Eddie,"

He grimaced at his hated nickname, then smiled at me. "You still love me,"

"Too true," I said with a sigh. Bloody idiot.

"What?" He turned to me, eyes wide. Whoops, must have said that out loud.

"Nothing," I smiled at him sweetly. "I just said 'I love you very much, Edward'." I widened my eyes and kept a straight face, trying to look solemn.

He saw through me immediately. "Liar,"

I raised my hands up in the 'I surrender' gesture. "Oh, you caught me. I hate your dirty guts and I never want to see your face again."

"Right," He pulled into the parking lot and we got out of the car, him hauling a giant umbrella, a blanket, some beach towels and a basket and me with my blanket and towel. The beach was crowded with a whole bunch of people trying to soak up the sun while it lasted.

We found a good spot close enough to the water that we wouldn't be sitting and walking on glass, and far enough from the water that we wouldn't come back from swimming to find our stuff swept out to sea. Once we put our stuff down and rolled out the blankets, I stripped off my jeans and shirt, revealing my dark blue halter-top bikini. Edward was doing the same while I looked out at the ocean, wondering how cold it would be and if swimming in it would give me hypothermia. I turned towards Edward to see if wanted a race to the water, but my question was cut short when I noticed him staring at me with his mouth slightly ajar.

"Um, Edward?" I waved my hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" He replied dreamily. Ha! Where was his eloquence now? He always had something to say, some smart remark, some snazzy comeback and now, just the mere sight of me in a bathing suit shut him up. Score!

I smirked at him. "Well, well. Where are your gentlemanly manners now, Edward?" I stood up as he unfroze and ran a hand through his hair. Was it just me, or was his face just a tiny bit pink?

I held out a hand and pulled him up. "Race you,"

"Are you sure you want to lose out here in front of all these people?" He asked cockily, getting his cool back.

"Please. In case you don't remember, I beat you last time. There's no way you're winning."

"Only one way to find out!" And with that, he took off down the beach with me trailing him. We jumped over people lying on blankets, dodged people playing Frisbee and ran around kids building sandcastles. I caught up to him and started to go past him, but he grabbed me around the waist, stumbling just the tiniest bit out of his stride, and spun around with me while I laughed and screamed like crazy.

"Edward, put me _down_!" I giggled. We had reached the water and he was still spinning me around when he just dropped, taking me with him. I squealed as we fell through the air and landed in the cold waves lapping at the shore. I landed on top of Edward, dizzy. He was gasping with laughter and I could feel his heart beating quickly under my hands.

"You are such a cheater," I said, ruffling his hair, which was soaking wet, by the way.

"All's fair in love and war," he replied, catching my hand as I went to mess up his hair again.

Naturally, I took that as a challenge and narrowed my eyes at him. "You know what comes next, right?"

The smile drained from his face. "No, don't—"

"Too late!" I shampooed his hair with the saltwater, rubbing it deep into his scalp. He thrashed, trying to get from under me, but I straddled his stomach, keeping him down. Realizing his attempts were futile, he stopped trying to throw me off and settled for tickling me instead. Somehow our position ended up reversed with me writhing beneath him. "Edward stop!" I gasped, tears coming to my eyes. I really hated being ticklish. "Please!"

"Do you surrender?" he asked me. He loomed over me, wet hair sticking out randomly, bare chest gleaming with water droplets. It was like he was modeling the clothes line 'Beach Day' and totally rocked at it.

"Do I have to?" I whimpered. He started tickling me again. "Okay, okay! I give!"

He let me up and we spent rest of the day building sand castles, swimming and around one, Edward opened the giant basket to reveal that he'd brought lunch.

It was a good day and the weather held so that we got to see the sun set over the ocean. We were walking on the beach, side by side. I was pretty much dry, but the wind had picked up and chilled me.

"This was fun," I said, looking out at the horizon.

"You made it that way, Bella," Edward looked down at me and grinned. "Of course it was the nearly tickling you to death part that made it fun for me; I had no idea you would get so hysterical." He laughed.

"Yeah, well it was fun rubbing salt into your scalp," I replied, irritated.

He cringed. "My hair's going to smell like ocean for the next two _years_,"

I laughed and quoted him. "'You still love me,'"

He stuck his tongue out at me. I laughed again and bumped him with my shoulder. I thought back to the day I first met Edward and cringed at those memories. I'd been so messed up then, still was, actually, but at least now I wasn't screaming at him to leave me alone. Since he'd met me he'd been my best friend; never asking too much of me, giving me solitude when I needed it, giving me a shoulder to cry on, and keeping me happy. He was one of the best people I'd ever met and that took me back to the day he met Sebastian, when I wondered if my puppy was right about Edward being safe.

"Hey, Edward," I said.

"Yeah?" He looked sideways at me, almost warily.

"Sebastian was right,"

"About what?" he looked confused.

"You're a good guy."

He put his arm around my shoulders and we stopped walking, me pressing myself into his side, glad of his warmth while we looked out across the water.

"I try, Bella." I put both of my arms around his waist and hugged him, holding on tight. He kissed my hair, then laughed. "At least I do when you're being nice."

I pulled away from him. "Okay, you just ruined a perfectly good sweet moment."

"How about I fix it by paying for dinner and a movie?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be ridiculous," I said. "You did lunch, so I'll pay for dinner."

"Over my dead body, Bella; ladies don't pay for dinner, but they _do_ pay for popcorn." He grinned mischievously and I couldn't help but smile back.

La Bella Italia. In case you're wondering, it's an Italian restaurant. Of course Edward and I had changed back into our street clothes before leaving the beach; I could hardly walk into a restaurant in a bikini.

When we walked up to the girl at the podium, her eyes went over Edward appreciatively, lingering on him, before moving, unwillingly, to me, where they seemed to rest sulkily.

"A table for two, please." Edward said, smoothly. The girl, who was around my age with short blond hair, a willowy figure and a pretty heart-shaped face, smiled a little too brightly at him and led us to a small table in the most crowded part of the restaurant. "Maybe something a bit more private," Edward suggested.

The girl huffed and led us to booth blocked by a short wall. "Thank you," Edward shot her a dazzling smile and she went red before she left.

I sat down, looking at the menu. I was starving and everything looked good and at first, I couldn't decide what I wanted.

"What are you getting?" I asked Edward, hoping to be inspired.

"The mushroom ravioli," He answered distractedly, still browsing his menu.

"I'm allergic," I said, partly to myself.

"Last I checked, I was the one ordering it, not the other way around," He said, dryly.

"I was hoping to be inspired," I admitted, sighing.

"Close your eyes and put your finger on something random," Edward suggested.

"Okay," I closed my eyes, spun the menu and put my finger down. When the waitress came and took our orders, I knew what I wanted.

"Hi, my name is Amber and I will be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" She smiled pointedly at Edward, but he pretended not to notice while he looked at his menu.

"Actually, we're ready to order. I'll have the mushroom ravioli and a Coke, please," he motioned for me. "Bella?" He took one of my hands off of the table and started to play with my fingers, measuring mine against his and holding it on his palm. My hand looked tiny and delicate in his large ones.

Amber looked reluctantly from him to me, her 100 watt smile dimming considerably. I smiled sweetly at her. "The chicken parmesan and water, thanks," The dismissal in my tone was apparent and not really concealed, so she got the message. Bye-bye Amber.

I rolled my eyes when she was gone and Edward laughed. "Jealous?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In your pretty little dreams, _Eddy_; I don't like to be ignored." I said grumpily, pouting.

"So I see," He said, unconvinced. Then he continued. "Speaking of dreams, are you ready to tell me about these nightmares you've been having?"

I felt the color drain from my face and my body grew cold all over except for the hand that he still held. I didn't want to bring the horrors I'd been trying to keep buried in my past to the surface of my new life.

"_Please,_ Bella. I want you to stop hurting," He said, softly. He stared into my eyes, holding my hand and intertwining his fingers with mine. It felt nice, his palm smooth against mine. I closed my eyes. "I can't promise that it will help, but maybe you'll feel better afterwards."

All the time I'd spent trying bury those memories. I was like a barbed creature, pushing everyone I loved away. I didn't want him to be the same. I didn't want to look at him and see disgust, contempt or even hatred in his eyes. I didn't want him to leave me alone. Not after he'd shown me what it felt like to be happy. I _needed_ him, much as I would hate to admit it, and it would tear me apart for him to leave.

"Edward…I…I don't…don't…" I trailed off, looking down.

He reached across the table and lifted my chin. "You don't what, Bella?" He whispered.

"I don't want to lose you," I whispered back, getting up the courage to look him in the eye. His eyes softened as he stared at me, his fingers still resting on my chin. Before he could reply though, _Amber_ showed up with our food.

"Here's the chicken parmesan and last, but certainly _not_ least—" here, she winked at Edward, "—the mushroom ravioli. Bon appetite!" She flipped her long blond curls over her shoulder and smiled brightly at him. "Is there _anything_ else _I_ can get you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. She stood there for a moment, smiling, but gave up when neither of us answered. Edward had gazed at me like she wasn't there, ignoring the interruption like I was his world. I had been frozen as an internal battle took place inside me.

"Tell me," he breathed, leaning close. I wanted desperately not to tell him, but at the same time I _needed_ him to know. The words bubbled up and almost spilled out, before I pulled them back down.

"You'll hate me, Edward. I'm…not good," I avoided those twin pools of green.

"Yes, you are, Bella," I started to shake my head but he stopped me. "_Yes_, Bella, _yes_ you are. You're the best kind of person. You may be sarcastic, stubborn, hard-headed, frustrating and a tad bit aggressive—" he winked at me and I raised an eyebrow despite the weight closing in around my heart. A tad? "—but you're also kind, sweet, smart, funny, selfless and every other thing that makes you the amazing person you are. I trust you."

And it was those three words that made me take a knife, cut myself open at the stomach and spill my guts to him. **(A/N: Sorry about the A/N in the middle of the story but I **_**HAVE**_** to point out that she **_**did not**_** actually cut herself). **

"Back in Phoenix," I started, neither of us had touched our food, "I killed someone." The startled look on his face killed me inside. Too late to turn back now, I thought, my eyes tearing up. I looked away from him, looking down at my lap. He still held one of my hands in his. "He was a six year old kid," My voice caught, but I swallowed. "He was so cute with his round little face and big brown eyes. He was always smiling and he had the cutest dimples in his cheeks. His name was Adrian and his mother went to school every Wednesday night, so she would pay me to baby-sit. He loved it whenever I came over. We would play all kinds of games and I could always get him to eat his vegetables and go to sleep on time. I was every mother's dream. Everything a mother could want in a baby-sitter. Adrian was like my baby brother and I used to walk him home from school whenever his mother wasn't home.

Apart from all that, I had a boyfriend. Jacob Black. At first he was kind and sweet and interesting. The first month was a dream. He always stuck by my side, keeping his arm around my waist, kissing me whenever we parted and taking me for rides on his motorcycle. He was about an inch or so taller than you, and definitely darker. He told me he was Indian when we first met. I forget what tribe. Like I said before, everything was perfect. I thought he loved me. Then, things gradually began to change. He began to drink and his temper would flare every so often. He became obsessively possessive of me. Where was I? Why didn't I call? Why wasn't I with him? Who was I with?

If I was talking to some guy in my English class about homework I'd missed, I was interested in him. If I laughed at something a guy from my algebra II class, I was cheating on him. Jacob turned violent, though the most he ever did to me was shove me. It scared me so I tried to break up with him, but he wouldn't listen, wouldn't accept it. In his eyes, I was still his girlfriend, his property, his slave. I wouldn't have it and neither would he. One night, when I was baby-sitting little Adrian, Jacob showed up, drunk and wanting to get back together. I don't know how he got into the house, the back door? They found the lock jammed on it after everything happened. He had a knife. I tried to protect Adrian from him; the poor baby was scared but still trying to protect _me_. Can you think of it?" I laughed a little, choking on the tears that were running down my cheeks silently. "A little six-year-old, barely more than a toddler, trying to stand up to a giant monster of a thug with a knife. When he tried to stand in front of me, I pulled him behind me, standing between him and Jacob. I remember feeling him shake behind me, pressing into my back, but trying to be brave. I told Jacob to leave or I'd call the cops. He didn't like that and he tried to grab me, but I punched him, hurting my wrist. It was back before I knew how to fight. When he felt the blood dripping from his nose, he went crazy and stabbed me before I could do anything. He stabbed me in the shoulder, and as I fell, he kicked me, calling me all sorts of awful things, spitting and punching me. Blood pooled around me and I could hear Adrian crying. I remember opening my eyes and wanting so badly to scream at him to run. I tried, but my voice wouldn't work, I couldn't draw any air into my lungs. I remember seeing him holding a phone, Jacob realizing that my smart little trooper had called the police just the way I'd taught him to whenever he needed help. Jacob went ballistic, grabbed a lamp and swung it at Adrian's head, knocking him unconscious. I don't know how I did, but I remember dragging myself over to where Adrian was lying, trying to make sure he was okay, and trying to protect him with my body, but Jacob only stabbed me again, in the chest, this time, right next to my heart," I put a hand over where the scar used to be, "and kicked me out of the way. He kept beating on Adrian's little body—how could anyone do that to someone so innocent? So sweet?—while I fainted. When I woke up later in the hospital, I hoped, but knew Adrian was dead. I can still hear his mother screaming and I still wish it had been me. Because when it comes right down to it, I killed Adrian. Knowing that Jacob would come after me, I went to watch him anyway. I was too stupid, too naïve and too weak to protect him. It was my fault. It _is_ my fault and I will never forgive myself for it." My voice cracked and broke and I broke down completely, tears dropping into my lap. The hands grasping my fingers disappeared. He had left. Just like so many others had. Just like my mother had wanted me to leave. It didn't surprise me and yet, my heart ripped itself anew. Suddenly, familiar arms were wrapped around me, and I gasped with relief. He hadn't abandoned me.

"It's okay, shhh, it's okay, Bella," He rocked me back and forth whispering to me. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said, managing to slide us both out of the booth without letting me go. He threw a hundred and a twenty on the table and led me through the door right behind our booth.

In the car, he held me and rocked back and forth, kissing my hair and whispering my name over and over again, while I cried and cried and cried into his shoulder. I cried and sobbed until there was nothing left but a dull ache, the initial sharp pain of an open wound gone. Gradually I quieted, enjoying the feeling of being safe in his arms.

"Bella?" Edward said after a while.

I sniffled. "Yes?"

"Don't you ever again think that I would leave you, do you hear me? I will always stay by you, even when you send me away. I will always protect you and I will always be watching. No one will ever hurt you again, I swear it." He stroked my hair, still rocking me. He kissed my hair again and tightened his arms around me. I closed my eyes, my face against his chest and felt him shift as he checked the time. "Bells it's after eleven. I should take you home. We have school tomorrow."

"Mmhm," I mumbled, half asleep. He laid me gently across the backseat of his car, strapping me in, before getting in the driver's side up front to drive me home. He carried me bridal style up to my porch when we reached my house and got the door open, quietly. He took me up the stairs and into my room and put me on my bed, pulling the covers up over me. As he turned to go, I reached out and grabbed the end of his shirt. "Edward…"

"Bella," He sighed, coming back.

"Stay? Please?" I asked in a small voice.

"Why?" he asked, kneeling by the bed, leaning close to me.

"You keep them away…make me feel safe…"

His eyes searched mine and I closed them, inhaling his scent. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating from him. "Okay, Bella,"

He slipped under the covers with me like he had last night. He wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me close and I snuggled into him. As I drifted off, I lifted my head and kissed his neck, because I couldn't reach his cheek. A butterfly kiss.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Anything for you," He whispered back. And I drifted to sleep in the arms of someone who cared enough about me not to run away, someone who now completely understood me, my best friend, the boy who was now apart of my heart, my protector, my guardian angel.

**A/N: ****Hope you guys like it! I'm coming out with the next one soon. Lot's o luv!**

**-xoxoSirena32**


	10. For You, A Thousand Times

**A/N:**** Hey I'm back. Guess what, Bella's going to be attacked. !**

For You, A Thousand Times Over

**EPOV:**

I woke up at around five. Bella was curled up in my arms, her back to my chest. I sat up gently, running a hand through my hair and yawning, careful not to wake her. When I looked down at her, she had adjusted her position by scooting closer to me, closing the little distance I'd inadvertently put between us. She had turned over so that she was now facing me.

Her hair was long and tangled around her shoulders, the circles were still under her eyes, but they were fading quickly. Her long, gently curving lashes were dark against the pale ivory of her skin and a small smile touched her lips. She looked peaceful. And beautiful.

I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and she sighed softly at my touch. I suddenly wanted to hold her, just for a minute, before I had to go home to get ready for school. Carefully, I slid my arm under her torso, and pulled her onto my lap. I made sure she stayed covered by the blanket as I leaned back and let the pillows against her headboard prop me up. I tucked her head under my chin and wrapped my arms tightly around her. She was tiny and delicate, like a flower or a snowflake. She was a princess, but not the ice cold, heartless girl everyone imagined her to be. Not an ice princess, just a princess. My little porcelain princess.

"Edward," she murmured in her sleep and I smiled down at her softly.

I thought of her story; crazy, abusive boyfriend, the death of a little boy who was practically her baby brother. She blamed herself for his horrible demise. She was always so hard on herself, constantly shutting everyone out. She was an amazing person, my little porcelain princess, so strong, surviving everything this stupid horror of a world threw at her. How could anyone even _think_ about hurting her? Before her life became this miserable haze, this deep dangerous ocean that had forced her to develop her hard shell, I could only ever imagine her as being the perfect, enchanting, benevolent fairy that she is when she isn't hiding behind her walls.

I was filled with rage as the thought of that bastard hurting my Bella wormed its way into my thoughts. My vision turned red and my pulse started to pound as adrenaline flew through my veins. My hands curled into fists against Bella's shoulder as I tried to contain my fury. Suddenly, I hated him with a passion. Never mind that I'd never met him, that maybe he might have changed after all these months. At that moment, I dearly wished that I had been there, when it happened, just so I could rip him to shreds the moment he took a step towards her.

My breathing was speeding as my heart pounded in my chest. I wanted to kill him. Jacob. I wanted to make sure Bella never hurted again. I was imagining him spitting up blood and bone splinters, lying broken on the ground, stabbed and bloodied…Wait, no. I needed to calm down. Bella was in my arms, safe, and she needed me. I held her tightly, burying my face in her hair, using her scent to call myself down. Gradually, my heart calmed, thanks to the soft, warm, fragrant girl pressed against me. Once I was calm, I gently put Bella back onto her bed, tucking the covers around her the way she liked, before rolling off the bed. I took a piece of paper and a pen from off of her desk and wrote her a note. I put it on her pillow, where she would invariably find it when she woke up and pressed my lips to her cheek, inhaling and lingering there, before I whispered in her ear. I stood and stepped back, watching her as she slept, hating to leave, but knowing I would see her later on this morning. So I slipped out the window, into my car and drove home, only to sneak into my bedroom window.

**BPOV:**

I awoke to the usual blare of my alarm clock. I was groggy at first and my eyelids felt glued shut. Something felt wrong, and after a moment, I realized I was missing the heat of another person beside me. Edward? I sat up and he was gone, a note in his place. I picked it up, smiling at Edward's script:

Dearest Bella,

I'm sorry I had to leave before you woke up, but I really needed a shower (smile). I'll be back as soon as I can to pick you up for school. See you in a bit.

Truly Yours,

Edward

It was endearing how he managed to get me to smile even without being there. Happily, I hopped out of bed and headed to the shower. After I toweled off, I put on a simple blue dress that stopped near the middle of my thighs with some black leggings and black ballet flats. I put on a black headband to keep my long curls back.

When I looked in the mirror, I realized my sense of style had gradually changed. Instead of dressing as the tough, badass chick everyone was used to, I was dressing sweeter, cuter, according to my moods. Another way Edward had influenced me.

I left the house when I heard his horn hunk outside. His silver Volvo was idling in the driveway and I opened the door and smiled as I got in. "Morning,"

He smiled back. "Good morning. You look nice."

Of course, I blushed. "Thanks."

"Sleep well?" he winked at me when I looked at him and I laughed.

"Nah, somebody kept kicking me and trying to push me out the bed. How about you?" I grinned at him.

"I don't know, someone kept _me_ up with a bunch of talking in their sleep." He smiled at me mischievously and I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Oh _no_," I whispered.

"Oh _yes_," he said, over exaggerating the evil 'muhhuhahahaha' laugh.

"What did you hear?" I groaned, holding my head in my hands.

"Oh, not much," he said, innocently.

"That bad, huh?"

"Not really, you just said my name."

"That can't be good."

"It depends on how you look at it," he said, smirking.

I looked at him again, convinced that his way of looking at things wouldn't exactly make me feel any better. "Like I said, that can't be good."

We pulled into the parking lot, just missing a couple of people and narrowly avoiding screwing up a silver Sentra's paint job.

I frowned. "If you keep this up, you're going to have to pay for a few medical bills and pray you don't get sued by people who don't have car insurance."

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, laughing. "I would never pay for anyone's medical bills!" I hid a smile and rolled my eyes as I opened the car door and hopped out. I put my messenger bag over my shoulder and we walked towards the school together. Lauren and her slew of sluts gave me the Evil Eye as I passed but I no longer cared enough to even _acknowledge_ her existence anymore. I no longer felt the need to prove that I was unbothered by their crap. I was happy and it wasn't my problem if they weren't.

"Bella?" Edward asked me, somewhat cautiously.

Uh-oh, "Yes, Edward?"

"You know our project is due in like, two days, right?"

Oh MY _GOD. _"It's January 13th _already_?"

"Um, _yeah_. Have you started your project, yet?" he ran a hand through his hair, and looked down at me with those giant green eyes of his.

"Yes, I have." I didn't ask him about his. There wasn't anything about myself that I didn't already know, and most of it I didn't like to think about anyway.

"What did you do?" He asked me. We stopped outside of our classroom door and I leaned against the wall and folded my arms stubbornly.

"Not telling," I said, smirking at him.

"Please, Bella?" He leaned towards me, eyes wide. He really was gorgeous, his reddish gold hair was falling over his forehead as usual and his voice lulled me and I almost gave him the answer.

I let my eyes go wide and my lips parted. I lifted my hand like I was in a daze and brushed his hair away from his face then let my hand drift down his cheek, and around to the back of his neck. I pulled him down to me gently and whispered in his ear.

"_No,_" I grinned at him as I let him go and he took on an injured look.

"_Bella_," he whined as he held the door open for me.

"I love _yoouuu_," I sang as I flounced in. I sat at our desk near the back of the room and smiled brilliantly at him as he followed.

It was Wednesday, January 15 and Edward was setting up for his presentation. Earlier he'd told me he had created a video about me and when I asked him where he'd gotten the footage, he just smiled. Turns out Alice got it for him. I should be totally weirded out, right? But I'm not.

Right before he dimmed the lights, Edward walked past me with a small smile, putting his hand down on my desk briefly and leaving a delicate white buttercup in its place. I picked it up, blushing of course, and twirled it in my fingers after inhaling its sweet scent.

Edward started the film and stood to the side, running a hand through his already tousled hair.

The screen showed a picture of me laughing as I danced around with Sebastian in my arms and the giant title that flashed across the picture read:

Isabella Marie Swan:

Under the Mask

After the title, Edward started to narrate.

"_Isabella Marie Swan is a seventeen-year-old girl that obviously lives here, in Forks, Washington. She prefers her nickname, Bella, to her full name and her favorite color is blue. She has a Siberian Husky puppy named Sebastian and her father is the chief of police. She likes Italian food, especially chicken parmesan, and is allergic to mushrooms." _The video flipped through pictures of me and Edward at La Bella Italia, me dancing around with Sebastian and me hugging my dad before I left for school. How Alice got a hold of these, I will most likely know as soon as school ends. _"Bella doesn't like driving fast and constantly refers to me as 'the blind maniac'. She loves the beach and hates the rain. Bella also finds it hilarious to wash people's hair with ocean water and have them smell like seaweed for the next two weeks. She's very ticklish and likes to cook for her dad. She's opinionated and witty and strong and she loves the classics. One of her favorite books is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. She doesn't care what people think of her and is not afraid to be herself. She's gentle and smart and kind, when she wants to be, and loves watching scary movies so that she can laugh at them." _ There was a video clip of me on top of Edward that day at the beach, my dark hair flying behind me and a giant grin on my face. I was trying to rub a bunch of sand, water and seaweed into his hair and laughing as he was tried to catch my arms. Then there was a picture of me at the stove in our little kitchen at home, and one of me at Edward's house on movie night with Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose. _"Bella writes poetry, loves roses and flowers in general and loves to draw. She's a gifted musician and though she's mostly into rock and heavy-metal, she also enjoys some classical music. Her favorite is Claire de la Lune by Debussy. Bella is annoying, mean, pessimistic, stubborn, grumpy in the morning, and a devious thinker, but she's also selfless, sweet, beautiful, intelligent, dependable, has a great sense of humor, even if it is a bit dark sometimes, a great cook, a wonderful dancer, a responsible person, respectful, respectable, and my best friend. This is the Bella behind the mask."_ The screen went through pictures and pictures of me and Edward, laughing, arguing, and hanging out. There were pictures of me with my eyes narrowed in concentration as I sketched in the park, with me on my bed, engrossed in a book, me twirling, laughing smiling, frowning and in one case, attacking Edward with one of those giant noodles that you play with in the pool (don't ask, long story). There was me rocking out with an electric guitar, my hair flying wildly as I played _Home_ by Three Days Grace, and me with my earbuds in. It finally ended with a picture of Edward and I at the winter ball, my dress swirling out around me as I danced in Edward's arms, both of us looking very happy.

The screen went black after the credits and the lights flickered back on. The classroom was silent and everyone was either staring at me or Edward in shocked disbelief. I could feel my face heating up, but I kept my head held high and shot Edward a grin which he returned.

Mr. Banner stood up and cleared his throat. "_Very _nicely done Edward. It seems you've really gotten to know Ms. Swan during the past two months. Nice job. Next up, Ms. Stanley, if you please?"

Jessica looked confused. "Huh?"

Mr. Banner sighed, obviously finding her apparent stupidity extremely annoying. "Please come up and present," he translated.

"Ohhh. Okay!" she bounced up and went to the front of the room. Edward came and sat next to me.

"What did you think?" he whispered in my ear.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" I whispered back.

"Of course not, you're no where near beautiful," he said back. He took the flower from my fingers and when I turned to look at him, feeling as if he had slapped me, he tucked my hair behind my ear with the little buttercup and trailed his fingers down the side of my face, gently. "You're _radiant_,"My face and neck flushed with pleasure and I'm pretty he could feel the heat coming off my skin from the way he smirked.

To cover my embarrassment, I went on the offense. "Apparently I'm annoying, mean, pessimistic and stubborn as well. Anything to say for yourself?"

He shrugged. "Remember when I told you I don't lie? That still stands."

I rolled my eyes and put my head down on the desk. "How did you know I played guitar? I kind of don't do it when there are other people around."

"Like I said this morning, Bella, you talk in your sleep. Oh, and Alice told me." Curse her and her love of Truth or Dare!

When the bell ending the class rang, Mr. Banner looked at me. "You're presenting first thing tomorrow, Ms. Swan. I hope you're ready." I hoped I was too.

That night in my room, I took out my electric guitar and practiced my song one last time, making sure I wouldn't embarrass myself tomorrow. It had taken a lot of courage to make the decision, but when it came right down to it, a song was the perfect thing for me.

When I went to bed that night, I had the same nightmare again, since Edward wasn't with me this time. _My past had come back to haunt me. I saw a tall dark silhouette. His eyes glinted red and I saw a little boy, bleeding and bruised, standing next to the silhouette, staring at me with solemn eyes. _

_ "Run, Bella," The boy said. "Run." The silhouette came for me and light hit his face. It was Jacob, swinging his knife at my face. _

I sat up with a start. I looked at my clock on my bedside table, saw that it was three in the morning, and went back to sleep. Needless to say, my night sucked, and I woke up exhausted. I put my hair in a messy pony-tail, threw on black leggings, dark-washed ripped shorts and a dark purple long-sleeved shirt which I rolled up to the elbows after I put on one of those black puffy vest jackets. I put on my converse boots, grabbed a pop-tart and my bag and went outside to my truck. I was halfway down the street before I realized I'd left my guitar in my room. After I backtracked to get it, I drove a little faster than usual to get to school.

Edward was leaning against his car, waiting for me as usual and after I parked, opened the door and jumped out, he raised his eyebrows as his eyes ran over me.

"Wow, you look rough." He observed.

"Thanks, girls love hearing _that_ in the morning," I snapped at him, trying to pull the stupid guitar from my backseat without damaging it while juggling my bag, books, an amp and a gym bag. I had a guitar cord wrapped around my neck and my hair was escaping my pony-tail and falling into my eyes.

"Hey, slow down, Bells," Edward said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shook him off furiously, frustrated, tired and late.

"No, go away!" I said, finally getting the thing free from the seat belt (don't ask) and pulling it out. I tried to slam the door shut, but the guitar cord got caught and as I tried to walk away, it tightened around my neck, choking me. Angrily, I stomped back over to the car door, opened it, yanked the cord out and shut the door again. As I tried to walk away, Edward blocked me.

"Bella, c'mon, when you're like this the sky gets all cloudy and rainy,"

"Well I'd certainly hate to ruin your perfect day with my emotional and mental instability." I retorted harshly.

"Okay," Edward replied, taking my bag off my shoulder and taking my gym bag from me. "There is a fine line between sarcasm and outright hostility and you seemed to have crossed it. What's wrong?"

I looked up at him for the first time today, I mean _really_ looked. His eyes were dark green, his face open and earnest. I felt terrible for snapping at him when none of this was his fault.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I've had a really bad night and I got up late and this morning just sucks," my voice cracked and broke and all of a sudden I was blinking back tears.

"Well, first things first," He replied, unwrapping the cord from my neck. "It'll probably help if you're not strangling yourself. Now, was it the nightmares again?" he put his arm around my shoulders as we walked.

"Yes," I said, miserably.

"Maybe they mean something," he suggested.

"I know what they mean," I told him. "I'm a murderer." We were at my locker and I took my guitar and other things from him and threw them in.

Edward caught my face in between his palms. "Bella, _no you aren't_. Please don't ever say that again. It wasn't your fault." He said, fiercely. He hugged me tightly and when he let go, I tucked the escaped strands of hair behind my ear and smiled up at him.

"Thanks Edward." I said sadly. _But it's still my fault._

He put his arm around my shoulders again as we walked to class. "Anything for you." He replied. "Oh, and before I forget, why the guitar?"

I shook my head. "Ah, ah, ah, that would be telling." He opened the door of our first period class for me and ushered me in after shaking his head.

After art, Edward and I walked to lunch together as usual, going with the flow of the crowd and laughing and joking. We dropped our stuff at the table we shared with Edward's family and got into the line. I wasn't exactly hungry, who am I kidding, my stomach wouldn't have been able to hold a Tylenol pill, so I just got an apple to roll around the table while everyone else ate, and plopped down next to Edward. Of course he decided to say something about my lack of nutrition.

"Bella why—" He started, but I cut him off.

"If I eat, I'm going to throw it back up, so don't bother trying to shove anything down my throat, Edward."

Alice giggled and Rosalie snorted. "He's probably going to try to stick you with an IV needle, Bella." They laughed together as Edward rolled his eyes and sat back from the table, leaving his pizza untouched.

I caught his eyes and raised an eyebrow when he didn't eat. He smirked back at me, saying that if I didn't eat, neither would he. Oh so it was going to be like that, was it?

I sighed, pretending to give in. "Fine," I picked up my apple and took a slow bite. He took a bite of his pizza, watching me the whole time. I watched as he chewed and swallowed, then sneakily spit the bite of apple into my hand. We continued like this until I'd gotten him to eat all of his food without me consuming a single bite.

On the downside, however, I had a handful of half-chewed, slimy, wet apple flesh in my hand and to add the icing on the cake, Lauren was coming over in a really, _really _low-cut tank-top, and a mini mini-skirt that looked about three sizes too small. Her bra was _so _obviously stuffed since her chin practically got caught in her boobs every time she turned her head and she was swaying her hips ridiculously in a failed attempt to appear sexy and seductive. I almost choked on my spit with laughter. When she stopped at our table, she stuck her chest out even more and smiled down at Edward, who cringed into me. I patted his knee under the table in sympathy.

"Poor you," I murmured into his ear, giggling, and he gave me a 'Really? That's the best you can do?' look, before he turned to face the boob-tastic bimbo.

"Hello Lauren," he said in a voice that, though was exceedingly polite, ineffectively hid his distaste.

"Hey, babe," She said, trailing a finger down Edward's shoulder. Her voice was all husky and scratchy sounding. I guess she was trying to sound like a cat purring, but in actuality her voice more resembled a dying horse trying to cough up a very painful hairball.

Emmett snorted milk out his nose as he burst out laughing and even quiet Jasper couldn't hold it in. There Lauren was, standing there, looking completely ridiculous, in front of a table in the middle of the cafeteria, with every one of the table's occupants laughing at her. The best part? She didn't know why we found her presence so hilarious. Just the way I liked it.

Anyway, she decided to ignore us and turned back to Edward. "So I was thinking, there's this really scary movie I wanted to see, but I don't want to go myself and since nobody will go with me—"

"Oh, I can imagine that," I muttered. Edward heard my remark and grinned.

Lauren obviously thought the smile was for her and she smiled back. "—you can come instead!"

I felt it as Edward shuddered. "Sorry Lauren, Bella and I have plans."

She exaggerated her pout. "I didn't even say what day."

"Yeah, we still have plans, whenever your movie-whatever is." I decided to step in and save my best friend. Lauren was cruel and unusual punishment.

"I don't remember speaking to you, you fugly little whore," She snarled at me. Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Edward all made to stand up, but I held up a hand, never looking away from Lauren.

"I may have changed just the tiniest bit, Lauren," I said, getting up slowly. "But the fact that I can kick your ass still remains. I'm warning you, like I've done so many times before, to kick rocks, get out of here, make like a freaking banana and split, disappear, get lost, go away, get thee gone demon, Lauren go bye-bye and whatever else there is. Capichè?" I stepped away from my seat and stepped towards her.

"You don't scare me, _Bella_," she spat. "You may act like some big bad wannabe G.I. Jane, but you're just a snivelly, stupid, bitch with anger management issues."

Snivelly? "You're wrong on both accounts, Lauren. I'm not a wannabe G.I. Jane, I'm _the_ G.I. Jane, in fact, she was based _off_ of me, so unless you want to lose your tongue, you better watch your little HIV carrying mouth. Second, I don't have anger management issues, because I know how to control my anger and when you can do that, you'd be surprised at the things you can accomplish with it. So be a good little puppy and go back to whatever guy you're screwing this week and leave us alone, okay?" I shot back at her.

I stood tall, arms crossed across my chest, my gaze level and cool while she glared angrily at me. "Screw you, you dick-sucking hoe! SCREW YOU!"

I took another step, about to make a move and Edward stood up quickly, hooking an arm around my waist.

"Bella," he murmured, warningly in my ear. I sighed. And I really wanted to break that really fake, really obvious thing on her face she called a nose job.

"Fine," I huffed, turning to go back to my seat.

"Hey Edward, you do a really good job of keeping that animal on a leash. You've _got_ to tell me your secret!" Lauren taunted.

Edward stiffened and went to make a move, eyes burning, but I put a gentle hand on his chest and he immediately calmed._ I_ was still pissed. "Hey Lauren," I said. "Have an apple." And with that, I tossed the disgusting remains of my chewed up "lunch" right into her butt-ugly face. The wet peels and fleshy grossness stuck to her face and chin and fell onto her overly exposed chest. I laughed as she froze and looked down at herself in disgust. Suddenly, I was inspired. I quickly went back to my spot at the table and grabbed my apple core. I walked up to Lauren and stuffed it right into her overstuffed bra right between her boobs so that you could see it sticking out, but it wouldn't be easy to remove. "Here, add this to your push-up. You know what they say, 'the bigger the better'!" I laughed and watched in satisfaction as she ran away, screaming and cursing at me. Yeah, I was on a roll with this friend-making business. I turned to my friends. "Did she seem a little upset to you guys?" I asked. They stared at me for a second before we all collapsed, shaking and out of control. In fact, we weren't alone in our sudden mirth; the whole cafeteria joined us and the school echoed with laughter.

When we could speak again, Edward turned to me. "You tricked me," he breathed.

I shrugged. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." I said. "I told you I wasn't going to eat." The bell chose to ring at that moment and I left the lunchroom with an emotional mix of euphoria, anticipation, and terror with Edward by my side, shaking his head.

In Biology, I set up my amp and guitar at the front of the room. The butterflies were crowding my stomach as I went to the table Edward and I shared to get the lyrics to the song I'd written to go over them one more time. He put his bag on the table.

"You wrote a song about me?" he asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"No, I wrote it about Lauren. Of course I wrote it about you, Edward. It's my project." I snapped at him.

"Sorry I asked." He looked at me reproachfully with those big green eyes and I realized I was being mean again.

"I'm sorry, Edward. When I'm nervous, I tend to lash out." I apologized, meekly.

"Well, you _did_ write me a song. The least I can do is forgive you." He gave me a crooked smile, hair falling over his face and as usual, he left me push it back for him. Once the class started, Mr. Banner called me up to the front of the room.

"Bella, please present your project to the class. Judging from the electric guitar I'm looking at, it's going to be pretty interesting."

I held my head up high, acting unconcerned and even comfortable with my audience. I picked up my instrument, slung the strap across my back and started to sing as I played:

_He likes sleeping in, in the morning,_

_And playing piano in the noon,_

_He's the kind of guy who likes clowning,_

_And throwing people in the pool,_

_There's nothing weird about wanting,_

_To eat cereal without a spoon,_

_Cause it's just _

_Who he is and what he does,_

_There's no way to be wrong being yoouuu!_

_And it's what he wants and what he is,_

_There's nothing wrong with acting twwwooo!_

_He can't cook at all, but it's cute,_

_How he tries to anyway,_

_He hates dress shoes and wearing suits,_

_But he'll do it any day,_

_He's a selfless kind of guy,_

_Don't ask me to tell you why_

_He's just naturally sweet, _

_But not very neat,_

_And there's nothing wrong with that!_

_He'd rather have a dog any day than a cat,_

_Let me sayyyy,_

_There's nothing wrong with that cause_

_It's who he is and what he does,_

_There's no way to be wrong being youuuu!_

_And it's what he wants and what he is,_

_It's all in your own valuuuueee!_

_He likes walking in the rain,_

_He dresses nice,_

_But he's not very vain,_

_He'd rather have spaghetti than rice_

_And he doesn't like bad news,_

_He loves his family, his friends and his cars,_

_He sides against Hitler with the Jews,_

_And has so many happy memoirs,_

_Cause it's,_

_Who he is and what he does,_

_There's no way to be wrong being youuuu!_

_And it's what he wants and what he likes,_

_He can do what he wants to doooo!_

I kept on through the whole song, which lasted about five minutes, describing Edward's habits, dislikes, likes, and aspects of his personality, finally ending with:

_He's my best friend,_

_The one that I trust,_

_To him, my heart I would lend,_

_Cause he's who he is._

With that last note I stopped, and looked at Edward, who grinned at me and started clapping, followed by the rest of the class. Naturally, my cheeks heated and I quickly handed the lyrics to the song to Mr. Banner, for him to grade, and took my seat after disconnecting my guitar from my amp.

"Nice, Bella. Very nice. I didn't know you could sing! Wonderful, just wonderful. You really have a gift!" He gushed.

This really wasn't helping my face cool down. "Thanks," I muttered, nearly dying and wanting desperately for the bell to ring.

"Brilliant, Bella!" Edward whispered loudly. "That was awesome! You should have told me about your talent before!"

I pinched his lips together with my thumb and forefinger when he kept talking. I tried to ignore how soft his lips felt underneath my fingers, but it wasn't easy. "Edward, you're making me blush," I said playfully. "Stop it."

I released his lips and he pouted for a second, before brightening. "I liked the song," He said. Mentally, I rolled my eyes.

"Really? I had _no_ idea," I replied, poking his nose. He laughed and swatted my hand away.

Edward drove me home late that night after watching a movie with his family. It was about eleven and Charlie was working late. When we pulled up to the curb, all of the lights in the house were out and the porch was surrounded in darkness. Edward walked me all the way to the door and went with me as I walked around the house turning on lights and making sure there was nobody there. After the place checked out and I walked Edward back out, he looked down at me, the headlights from the car reflecting in his eyes.

"Are you going to be okay tonight?" He asked me, tugging playfully on a strand of my hair. "I could stay until Charlie gets home,"

I raised my eyebrows. "Three O'clock in the morning?"

He grinned down at me. "Like I've said before, anything for you, princess,"

I really wanted him to stay, but he had school tomorrow just like me and there was no way I was letting him stay up with me until three. Furthermore, how would I explain to Charlie when he came and found Edward in my bed? '_Oh, hey Charlie, remember Edward? Well he's staying the night because I have nightmares about my old ex trying to kill me and things are better when Edward's here_'? I don't think so.

"No, I'll be fine. Be careful on the roads; I don't want you to end up wrapped around a tree," I said, wryly.

"Well, okay. See you tomorrow, Bells," He trailed a finger down my right cheek, leaving a trail of heat, before softly kissing my left. I blinked, feeling warm all over, and then he was gone, leaving chill in his place. I watched him as he honked once, before driving down the street and disappearing. When I finally closed and locked the door and turned back to the inside of my house, the lighted rooms seemed empty and creepy. A tingle went down my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck lifted. The house was way too quiet and I hurried upstairs to my room, changed into my PJs and curled up on my bed. My eyelids drooped and closed as I dozed. I was floating in a between state, not quite asleep, but not quite awake, when I heard a noise in my room. I opened my eyes slightly. If there was someone in my room I'd rather they didn't know I was awake, that way I'd be able to surprise them.

I saw a giant, humanoid silhouette, lumbering towards my bed. The silhouette seemed familiar and after a bone chilling realization, I understood why. It was the giant silhouette I'd seen every night in my dreams. The one who haunted my waking thoughts, hiding and slipping and sliding in my subconscious mind like a slimy snake. It was Jacob Black. He smirked at me. "Miss me, Bella?"

Before I could tell myself not to, I screamed.

**EPOV:**

I hadn't wanted to leave Bella tonight. I mean, even more than usual. I had a bad feeling that wouldn't leave and it revolved completely around Bella. It made me anxious, sick with worry and near panicked. On the ride home, I was debating turning around and going back to Bella's, whether she was fine or not. By the time I reached my front porch, I'd decided to stay home. Bella would call if something were wrong after all, right? But by the time I went through the front door, I was already turning around to get back in my car. As I neared her street, the feeling of dread grew stronger. When I reached her house, I threw open the car door and rushed to the front door. Just as I was about to knock, I heard a bloodcurdling shriek come from inside.

"_Bella!_" I threw my shoulder into the door and it crashed open. I ran into the house and up the stairs. I threw open Bella's bedroom door to find her curled up and shaking on her bed with a tall figure in front of her. From the way that she cowered, I knew exactly who it was. Jacob Black.

"Edward!" Bella stared at me, terror, the dominant emotion on her face.

"No, I'm Jacob. Remember, babe?" The creep said, advancing on her. Before he could do anything else, I launched myself at him, knocking him to the floor, face-first.

"And I'm Edward. Nice to meet you Jacob and can I just say that you have _got_ to be the biggest asshole in the world." I grabbed him by his hair and slammed his face into Bella's bedroom floor. He writhed struggled until he threw me off of him and swung a fist at my jaw. I ducked and threw a punch at his face. My fist connected with a crunch as I broke his nose. He came at me, yelling in fury more than pain. "Bella! _Run!_" I shouted at her. She jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. At least she was away from here. Hopefully she was calling the cops.

Jacob pulled out something shiny and pointed it at me. _Damn _it. He had a freaking _gun_. "Bella is _mine_," he hissed as he pointed it at me. "She belongs to _me_ and now you're going to know what happens to guys who think they can take her from me." Just as he was about to pull the trigger, I heard a crash and the bastard's eyes rolled up into his head as he collapsed. Bella stood in his place, holding a broken beer bottle and breathing hard.

"News flash, I don't _belong _to anyone." She snarled down at him. "And I definitely _don't_ belong to you, dickhead. Get it through your thick skull." She dropped the bottle and threw herself into my arms, sobbing. I rubbed her back, soothingly.

"It's okay, Bella, it's okay. You knocked him out, see?" I said, trying to comfort her.

She sniffed. "Mm-hmm,"

"Thanks, by the way. He was going to shoot me."

She laughed a little, a shaky, anxious sound. "Nobody kills you but me."

I reached down and picked the gun up from the floor and stared down at Jacob Black in disgust. His face was bloodied and his nose was smashed where I'd hit him. He had a lump growing on the back of his head. I shook my head in disgust before taking Bella's hand and leading her out of the room.

"Did you call the police?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No, I was looking for something to knock him out with." Typical Bella.

"Well then, let's go." I went to her living room and picked up the phone. I dialed nine-one-one and told the lady on the other line what happened. Bella was tucked under my arm; there was no way I was letting her out of my sight _at all_. She leaned into me. The gun was on the lamp stand next to the couch.

After I hung up, I felt Bella stiffen and shoot up to her feet. I rose with her and followed her gaze to the staircase where the devil himself stood. Jacob was staggering, but very much awake. His face was bloody and he was quivering with rage. He stared at us, well, more directly at Bella, as if he could kill us with only a look.

"You _bitch_," He whispered, hoarsely.

**BPOV:**

Oh, _no_. He was back. I whimpered involuntarily. "Edward?" I reached for him.

"I'm here," he said, putting himself between me and my psychotic ex. I clung to him, scared out of my wits. My vision was clouding up as my mind went back to that night.

_"Bella, I'm never going to leave you alone, you might as well give up. Come back to me, Bella," Jacob said as he advanced, threateningly. I held Adrian behind my back, trying desperately to think of a way out of this. _

This time, I was the one being protected. Edward stood tensed in front of me, hands balled into fists at his sides, tendons standing out.

"Beeeelllllaaaa, come out to play," Jacob taunted as he stepped forward.

"If you touch her, I'll kill you," Edward said, almost as if he were commenting on the weather.

Jacob threw back his head and laughed. "I'd like to see you try," Edward lunged at him, knocking him back into the wall, throwing punch after punch to any part of Jacob that he could reach while I stood frozen. Jacob threw Edward off of him and jumped on top of him. I gasped in horror, and did a jumping roundhouse kick at Jacob's big head and he flew into the coffee table, his head snapping back. Edward jumped back on top of him and wrapped his hands around Jacob's throat, trying to strangle him. Jacob kicked Edward back and before he could recover, he leapt at him holding a very long, very sharp knife.

I saw it all in slow motion. Jacob flying, Edward, standing, flailing backwards, off-balance. And the blade, sinking deep into Edward's chest. Edward's face went blank with surprise and shock, and his eyes went wide as he stared down at the hilt of the knife sticking out of his chest and the pool of blood spreading around it. I heard myself cry out as Edward fell and Jacob yanked the knife out of his chest and lurched towards me.

He was coming fast and there was nothing for me to do. I would die and so would Edward, all was lost. Then I spotted the gun lying on the lamp stand _right next to me_. I quickly picked it up, cocked it back and then pulled the trigger. The shot went off loudly and Jacob went down like a sack of bricks. He was clutching his leg, his knee bleeding.

Dropping the gun, I ran to Edward's side. He was breathing shallowly and his shirt was soaked in blood. "Edward!" I gasped, choking on my own tears.

"Bella," he whispered. "You have…" He struggled to breathe. "…to stop the bleeding."

Stop the bleeding, right. I ripped his shirt down the middle, exposing the wound. It was deep and bleeding freely. I took off the oversized T-shirt I had put on over a tank top for bed, bunched it up, and pressed it against his chest. I heard moaning, and cursing from Jacob, and in a rage, I jumped up, grabbed the gun, and whacked him as hard as I could across the head. He slumped immediately, unconscious.

I went back to Edward after calling an ambulance and held his hand while I held my shirt to the knife-wound with the other.

"You're going to be okay, you're going to be okay," I kept saying it over and over again, trying to convince myself as well as him. Tears poured down my face and I was shaking. His lips were moving silently as he said something over and over again. I leaned down so I could hear him.

"Bella," He was saying. My name over and over again.

"I'm here, Edward I'm here," I cradled him in my arms, kissing his face and stroking his hair. "I'm here and I love you and you're going to be okay."

_ The ambulance ride was a blur. With the police, came my father, who insisted I get some rest after I told them what had happened, but I stubbornly refused. Instead, I rode with Edward, who was looking paler than ever. The jagged wound in his chest matched the one Jacob had given me not so long ago. I'd had the scar removed, but it still showed up faintly every so often in the light. _

_ They took him to the emergency unit, and told me I had to wait outside. Those hours I spent aren't clear, but I know they were hell on earth for me. Edward Anthony Cullen _could not _die. I loved him. Maybe not the way I'd thought I'd loved Jacob, but I loved him. He was apart of me. Apart of my heart, my soul. And if he died, then so would I. I knew that I could never be Bella without him. I would be Isabella, the faceless, empty, nonexistent shell of someone who was once vibrant and full of life. I would be dead inside, the worst possible kind of death on this earth. And that would make me a killer, not once, not twice, but three times. Once for Adrian, once for Edward and once for myself. Three strikes and you're out. _

_ I never fell asleep in the waiting room. Never answered anyone when they spoke to me, whether to offer me a pillow and a blanket or to suggest that I go home. No, I sat there, in that hard, plastic chair, in front of a low table filled with old magazines and a vase full of plastic flowers and stared straight ahead. To someone else, I might have looked perfectly calm, contained, perfectly fine and unaffected. But if you looked into my eyes, you would have seen me drowning, dying, hating myself for the things I'd let happen, for being born to hurt people, and wishing my and Edward's places were reversed. I couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to. My mind was disconnected from my body. Edward please hold on… please…just…hold…on._

"Miss? Excuse me, Miss?" A rather short man in a white jacket with a stethoscope around his neck stood in front of me. He was balding and what little hair he had was a hard steel gray. He had big bushy eyebrows and a salt-and-pepper goatee. "Miss, I am Dr. Alan Tomislav." He reached down and shook my hand.

"I'm Bella Swan," I said, my voice empty. "It's nice to meet you."

Then he said the words I'd literally been dying to hear. Five little words. "He's going to be okay," My gaze was no longer dead, but alight with hope. I felt like I was burning. "The wound was deep, but it missed his heart. You did well stopping the bleeding the way you did," He spoke with a thick Russian accent. "We stitched him up, but we'll have to watch him for a few days. He _did_ need some blood, he was AB positive and we were short on that, but we managed—"

"Why didn't you take mine?" I blurted before I could stop myself. I was AB positive and since it all my fault in the first place, it was only fair.

"We didn't need to; we had everything we needed. He's unconscious now, but you can go see him." Dr. Tomislav told me. I would have hugged him, but I was rushing down the hallway towards the room he told me Edward was in.

I eased open the door, peeking in, before entering. Edward was propped up on several pillows, an IV stuck in his left arm. He looked awful, pale with dark purple bruises blossoming across his cheekbones. His eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged.

I went to sit on the bed next to him, a single tear rolling down my cheek. I stroked his cheek, traced his pale violet eyelids, his nose and his lips. I picked up his hand, the one without the IV and intertwined my fingers with his. I bowed my head, closing my eyes and letting the tears roll freely. I don't know how long I just sat there, but it was about three in the morning when I came into the room.

After a time, I felt a hand trailing my shoulder lightly. I lifted my head to see Edward awake and staring at me. His eyes were the bright green I remembered and loved and I started to cry harder. He tried to sit up but stopped and cringed in pain, propped up on his elbows.

"No," I told him through my tears. "Lay back down, you need to rest."

"Bella," He started. His voice was raspy and he cleared his throat. "Bella," he said, his voice much clearer, "Bella, stop crying. Please."

"I-I can't." I told him. "This is all my fault," He didn't lay back down. Instead, he removed his hand from mine and circled his arm around my waist and pulled me down onto the bed with him. He scooted over a bit to make room and I curled into his side.

"This isn't your fault," He whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

"Yes it is. People are always getting hurt because of me," I sobbed.

"Shh, Bella, shhh. It's Jacob's fault." He stroked my hair and we were quiet for a while. "Bella?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes, Edward?"

"Did he hurt you? At all? Did he even touch you?" He asked me, his eyes burning into mine.

"No he didn't." I replied. "But I wish he had. I wish it had been me instead of you."

"Bella I swore no one would ever hurt you again and I'm glad I kept that promise. I'd do it again if I could. Again and again."

I put a finger over his lips. "No, no you wouldn't, no one would, don't say that,"

"For you, a thousand times over," he whispered. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine. "A _thousand_ times over, for you. Only for you."

I leaned against him limply. I could feel his warmth, feel his hair tickling my forehead, feel his heart beating against mine. "Edward, you shouldn't," I whispered back.

"I love you, too," Was all he said back to me before we drifted off to sleep together with our fingers intertwined like children in a fairytale. As I drifted off to sleep with him, his words echoed in my mind. _For you a thousand times over. For you. Only for you…_

**A/N:** **Hey guys, I'm back. I hope you loved this chappy. It's thirty-one pages long, believe it or not. The next one will be out soon. You guys know the drill, read and review! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Lot's of love ; )**

**-xoxo Sirena32 **


	11. Kiss Me

**A/N: ****hi, I'm back. How did you guys like the tenth chapter? Loved, liked or hated? Please tell me in your reviews! How can I get like, five hundred thirteen visitors and only like five reviews? Come on people! Show me some love! **

**Disclaimer: Sorry Ms. Meyer, I've been forgetting disclaimer. I don't own any Twilight characters or any situations that occurred in the books. Everything is Stephanie Meyer's!**

Kiss Me

**EPOV:**

God, I felt like crap. The pain meds were starting to wear off and the pain in my chest was flaring up. I opened my eyes. Bella was knocked out next to me, her forehead still against mine, her lips parted the tiniest bit. Tears rolled down her face and I sighed. _Bella_, I thought, exasperated, _it wasn't your fault. _

"It's not your fault," I whispered out loud. "_Not your fault_," I willed her to hear me, to believe me. "Bella, it's not your fault." I wiped the shining drops away, leaning closer to her.

Looking at her sleeping face, I was painfully aware of the fact that I loved her. I loved her with a passion and I couldn't have her. She didn't love me the way I loved her and I wasn't sure she was ready to love again anyway, not after what happened the last time. This close to her, I wanted to touch her lips with my own. The need, the _want_ burned inside me, nearly propelling me forward before I stopped myself. Come on, Edward. Be what she needs. Do this for her.

I pulled my head back, sighing, and called for more pain meds. When the nurse came in, she gave me my shot and looked at Bella, asleep on the hospital bed with me.

She started to wake her, "Come on, sweet heart, it's time to move,"

"No, no, she's fine," I told her. Bella started moving, waking.

"Edward?" She murmured.

"Shh, it's okay Bella, go back to sleep." I touched her face, smoothing her tangled curls back from her ear. She settled down and I looked at the nurse. "Just leave her here," she nodded at me and left, closing the door softly behind her.

I looked down at my little porcelain princess. I truly would do anything for her. And if that meant distancing myself from her to protect her and to preserve our friendship, no matter how much it hurt me, then I would do it. Because I loved her.

**BPOV:**

Three months have past since Jacob came back and Edward was stabbed. Edward constantly told me the whole thing wasn't my fault, but he was wrong. He couldn't even be around me anymore, at least, not as much as he used to be. I would come over to his house for movie night or to sleep over with Alice and he would disappear into his room for hours at a time.

Sure, he would speak to me at school, we would talk and joke around and he would smile and laugh and I would feel like everything was back to normal, but then this sad look would come into his eyes and everything would change.

I missed my friend more than I thought was possible. A fierce aching in my chest had me curled up at night, trying to somehow alleviate the pain. Why did this hurt so much? It's not like I never saw him. I just…didn't see him as often. He didn't smile as often as he used to and I couldn't help but think that it was in some part, my fault…

"Hi, Bella," It was Mike Newton, punk extraordinaire.

"What's up, Newton?" I asked, not looking up from Wuthering Heights.

"Well, umm, I was wondering if you wanted to do something Friday night, I dunno, maybe a movie?" I was in the library before school, in my favorite corner. I don't know _how_ Mike had found me, but there you go.

"Sorry Mike I'm going to see a movie that night."

"Well, I know, I just wondered if you wanted, maybe to go with me. On a date. To the movies." He said, almost as if I were Jessica. And let me just say _that_ was a pretty bad insult.

"Um, _yeah_, I got that. The answer is no." Briefly, the idea of a date fluttered through my mind and appealed to me, only with a very different guy. A green-eyed bronze-haired one. Quickly, I shook the thought out of my head. Why had I thought that?

"Okay, fine, whatever," he turned away and left. I sighed with relief. Jerk.

**EPOV:**

Bella. Bella. Bella. Bella. I needed her. It actually hurt physically to be away from her. It also hurt to be near her. I didn't know what to do.

"Knock-knock," Alice stood in my doorway, her short spiky black hair standing up all over her head.

"Go away, Alice," I moaned, holding a pillow over my face. I was sprawled out on my bed, being miserable.

"I can't, Eddie," she said, "You're upset and miserable. Don't deny it, we're twins and I can tell. What's wrong?" She came into my room and sat down on my bed. Normally I would have been cross with her for using my nickname, but today it didn't matter.

"Bella," I said, by way of answer.

She raised her eyebrows. "What's happened?"

"Me,"

"What do you mean 'you'?" She asked.

"I've done something," I said cryptically.

"No crap, idiot. Do you want to tell me what you did?"

"Not particularly." I replied, turning over so that I was on my stomach, my face still in the pillow.

"Come on, Edward. Maybe I can help," she waited for me to answer. I didn't. "Fine, then. Don't tell me." She stood up and went to the door. "Edward," she hesitated then continued. "She misses you. A lot."

**BPOV:**

Friday night found me at the movie theater buying a ticket for a movie I did _not _want to see. When I handed my ticket to the guy at the booth he looked over my jean and T-shirt clad figure in appreciation and winked at me.

"Enjoy the show," he said. I rolled my eyes and walked past him. I sat in the middle of the theater and sat back and to watch the show. Whoever had thought of creating a movie where the heroine fell in love with the zombie was seriously desperate for ideas. How the hell do you make out with a rotting corpse and not gag? How do you fall for someone who's smoothest line is 'uuuuugggghhhhh, bbbbbrrrraaaiiinnnssss'? Didn't make sense at all, but hey, wait, there is no 'but hey' for this. Oh, well.

While everyone else jumped at all the right moments and 'aaaww'ed and gasped, I sat with my cheek propped up on my arm and waited for the stupid thing to be over. Why had I come to the movies if I really didn't want to see anything? I felt like getting out of the house on my own. Edward was always "busy" apparently, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could have a good time by myself. So far, though, I was bored out of my mind and wondering why I had wasted my money.

Eventually when the movie became too ridiculous for me to handle, (she started dreaming about being married to her zombie lover), I got up and walked out. I went through one of the back exits of the theater and ended up in a dark alley. The place was lined with garbage and dumpsters, had graffiti on the walls, filled with a stench horrible enough to kill a hippo and blocked on one end by a grimy brick wall. The best part about it all? I wasn't alone. No, it wasn't enough that I was alone in a dangerous, dark alleyway with no weapons or nice quiet atmosphere so that people could hear me scream. No, there had to be about five guys around my age, blocking the entrance and leering at me threateningly.

One of them stepped forward and I recognized him as Mike Newton. "Hey, Bella,"

I held my head up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and out of my face. Thank God I was wearing something sensible and easy to run in. I tried to act unafraid and confident. "Hey, Newton, looks like I just can't seem to get rid of you. What, are you stalking me now?"

He sauntered towards me, a nasty grin forming on his face. "Bella, Bella, Bella. You'll learn to love me. But first you're going to beg. Beg the way you made _me_ beg. And like you, I'm going to have some fun before all this is over. Only, it'll be a very _different _kind of fun, and, who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it." He winked at me in that disgusting way of his and the other four guys behind him laughed and moved forward. Suddenly, I was very afraid.

"Edward," I whispered before I remembered he wasn't with me. And then I was angry with myself. Being around Edward had softened me. I didn't need him to protect me, and I was fooling myself thinking I did. I was _strong_. I was _independent_. _I_ possessed the fire, determination and _will_ to survive. And more than that, I possessed the ability to _kick ass_.

All of a sudden, I was furious. I wanted to burn down buildings for kicks and whack these guys in the head with giant two-by-fours. I started to see red. How _dare_ they come up to me? How _dare_ they threaten me? How _dare_ I whimper like an injured kitten lying helplessly in the middle of a road? I _was not _someone's prey and I would never be hunted as such. _I_ was the predator here. I didn't need _anyone_. Not even Edward.

I bent my knees, lowering myself into a fighting stance. I flashed him a killer smile, feeling dangerous. "I _really_ want you to try."

He looked stumped for a second, obviously expecting me to cower and be scared, before he pulled himself together. "This is going to be fun," He purred.

"Tell me about it," I growled, before launching myself at him while he was busy trying to respond. First rule of a fight: Catch your opponent off-guard. I drove my fist into his jaw, using my core-strength, rather than depending solely on my momentum. I heard a crack as the hit drove his head back before I crouched low and swept his legs out from under him with a roundhouse kick. Instant timber. I stood up to face the rest just as one guy dove towards me, off-balance. I simply stepped aside and let him barrel straight into the guy behind me. Three down, two to go. I kicked the next guy in the chin, snapping his head back, before using the momentum of that kick to spin me around, gathering more momentum, and kicked the other guy right in the sack. _Hard_. He went down with a cry, clutching his balls. Mike jumped at me from the ground, slashing at my face with something glinting silver. Surprised at the rashness of his move as I was, I was barely able to duck before it took out my eye. Unfortunately, the knife slashed my left cheek, creating a trail of red-hot burning along my cheek bone. I felt a single trail of blood roll down my face like a scarlet tear. I ignored it.

"Oh, man, Newton. Talk about screwed," I kicked at him, but he evaded me, and stabbed the knife towards me. "You know, you really need to work on your people skills. This is _so_ not the way to get a girl to go out with you." I jabbed at his stomach, connecting, but also earning a shallow cut across my knuckles. While he was distracted by my jab to the ribs, I brought my other hand up and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding the knife. In one graceful movement, I had kicked his legs out from under him and had him at knifepoint on the ground. "You picked the wrong girl to fuck with this time, Mike." I growled, pushing the sharp edge into his throat. "What's to prevent me from slicing you up like a pack of smoked turkey in the deli aisle in Walmart? Only my conscience, and trust me, right now, the angel part of me is screaming at me to cut your ass up. Be lucky I'm not the same girl I used to be. Otherwise, you'd be the top story on the channel eleven news."

I took the knife and knocked him out with heavy hilt, before wiping my fingerprints off of it and dropping it onto his chest. I stood up, and walked out of the alleyway after smiling at the recuperating guys on the ground. My truck was stupidly parked some way from here, but that was okay; I could protect myself.

**EPOV:**

On Friday night, I sat at my piano, staring at the keys sadly. It had been a while since I'd last played and they were lightly covered in dust. Stretching my fingers out, I played a quick scale to warm up, before starting to compose the tune that had been playing itself over and over in my head for weeks. It started out delicate, high and trilling, before lowering a bit into something sweet, but level. The song continued on and on and as I thought about Bella. About the very beginning, when she was so cautious and closed off to the world and when we became friends. I thought about how she gradually became my world and how she became happier. I thought about Jacob's attack and the music took a darker turn, but then picked up just the tiniest bit before gradually getting slower and sadder until it faded out with a single low note. Why? Well because this story would end sadly. There was no hope for Bella and I as anything more than the friends we were, and maybe I had ruined that too, with the way I felt. Why did I have to fall in love with her? Why did I have to crave her smile, want to see the blush on her pretty face, need the music of her laughter? Fate was a cruel thing.

After I'd finished playing, I heard Alice exclaim from the kitchen. "Oh, my gosh! Are you _serious_? That _bastard_! I'll be there as soon as possible!"

I guessed one of her friends had been dumped or something again. I rolled my eyes and went back to my composing.

**BPOV:**

_Damn _it. My truck wouldn't start after I'd walked all this way to get to it. Huffing, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and called Alice.

"Hey, Ally, I know it's late, but I went to see this stupid movie and decided to leave early and now my stupid truck won't start. And guess what else? Mike Newton decided to attack me when I got out of the theater, so I had to, and pardon the cliché, 'teach him a lesson'. But I did get a slash across the cheek, so don't freak out."

"Oh my gosh! Are you _serious_? That _bastard_! I'll be there as soon as possible!" she replied, shouting. That's Alice for you.

"Thanks so much, oh, and Alice? Don't tell Edward," I said, before shutting my phone off and slipping it back into my pocket. I leaned against my truck and waited for my good friend to show up, wishing it was my best friend.

The next morning, when I went outside to go for a random walk through the woods, I found a pink camellia on my doorstep. It was lush and in full bloom, its petals full and wide. Tagged onto it was a little paper with the letter E on it. Edward. I smiled sadly to myself and picked it up, inhaling as I breathed in its scent and strolled into the trees.

When I went upstairs to change into my PJs and turn in for the night, I found a bunch of red carnations on my windowsill. I opened the window and brought them inside after looking out to see if he was there. Disappointed, I put them in a glass filled with water along with the camellia. I left the window open that night. When I woke up in the morning, my entire room was filled with bright yellow, star-shaped flowers. Daffodils. I didn't know what to do with them, there were so many. So I just left them where they were. That night, the daffodils were mixed with pretty purple hyacinths and the scent was intoxicating. Edward. I missed him so much…

Charlie had had my truck fixed Saturday afternoon, so I was good to go on Monday and when I went to open my car door, I found a single primrose on my seat. Edward? I found a red tulip taped to the door. Edward wasn't in school that day.

**EPOV:**

I had decided to skip school today. I couldn't be around Bella right now. I couldn't tell her anything. At least not verbally. Instead, I'd told her with flowers. Every single gift had a meaning. It was the only way.

I didn't go to school at all that week.

**BPOV:**

The next weekend, I decided to go to Port Angeles just for the heck of it. Walk around a bit, go shopping. I strolled down the sidewalks, thinking about the flowers Edward had sent me and looking up at the sky, wishing desperately that I could see the stars. The only thing that decorated the starless night was a full, yellow-looking moon that hung suspended as if it was too bloated and lazy to move.

I was about to pass a café when I decided that I needed a coffee and went in. The bell above the door went _ding!_ As I pushed it open. The place was crowded with people lounging on couches and in chairs and dancing as the band up on the stage played loudly. The smell of hot brewed coffee was on the air and it was warm inside. As I was turning to go order, I saw a flash of bronze through the crowd and moved towards it, pushing my way past people and trying not to step on feet.

There he was, sitting alone at a table meant for two, looking down into his coffee sadly.

"Edward!" I said and at the sound of my voice, he looked up, startled. When he saw me, he leaped to his feet.

"Bella? What are you doing here?" He asked me.

I gestured towards the front counter. "I needed a cappuccino, saw a conveniently placed café, and walked in."

"I didn't know you would be here," he said. "Alice said you told her you were staying home tonight."

My heart clenched in my chest and my throat closed up. "You only came here because you thought I wouldn't be here? Edward what's going on?" My voice was cracking. I was drifting apart.

"Bella I…I just…just—"

"Just _what_, Edward?" I demanded, my eyes filling and threatening to spill over.

"I just _can't_!" He burst out. "I _can't_, Bella! I can't speak to you, can't be around you! I can't even _look_ at you. Not right now."

The tears spilled over, but I managed to hold myself together enough to get one sentence out with only the slightest tremble to my voice. "Well then, I guess you won't have to anymore." I said bitterly. I spun on my heel and ran out of the café and into the night, Edward calling my name far behind me. I never turned back.

**EPOV:**

What had I done? What had I said? Bella, Bella, Bella. I'd hurt her. Badly. I could see it in her eyes as the tears spilled down her cheeks before she'd left. The crowd had gotten in my way when I'd tried to follow her and when I finally got outside, she was gone.

At home, I collapsed onto my bed, not even bothering to take my street clothes off, and curled up in silent misery. What had one of the first things I'd told Bella been? _I will never leave you._ I had been fooling myself thinking that I hadn't. I'd left Bella. Left her far behind. Avoided her. Hidden from her. I'd thought that I was protecting her from myself. Instead, I'd been hurting the both of us by keeping us apart. More importantly, I'd hurt _her_. Badly. And that was unforgivable.

I drifted off to a troubled sleep, dreaming about Bella and everything that had happened between the two of us. Her smile. Her laugh. The way her hair looked when it billowed out behind her in the wind. I dreamed about the way she looked at me, like I was the one who made her happy. She depended on me. I was the one she turned to when she needed a shoulder to cry on. I was the one she trusted. Needed. I'd deluded myself into thinking either of us could live like this. When I woke up, I knew. It was time to take a chance.

**BPOV:**

Sunday morning, I woke up to see a small bouquet of flowers on the pillow next to me. There seemed to be one of each flower, except for the red tulips. There was a white violet, a yellow zinnia, a yellow tulip, a primrose, a purple hyacinth, a daffodil, a white chrysanthemum, a pink camellia and one arbutus. They were all tied together with a black ribbon. Next to the bouquet was a note:

**We need to talk. **_**Please**_** come over.**

**E**

I was half-tempted to throw the flowers out of the window, call him and tell him what he could do with his flowers and notes, but the thing was, we _did_ need to talk. We couldn't be friends anymore. Not like this. It hurt too much. So I threw on some jeans and a giant oversized T-shirt and put my hair in a pony-tail.

I jumped into my truck and drove over to his place. I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Edward answered almost immediately.

"Hey, Bella." He murmured, looking me in the eye for the first time in months. I was taken aback by the sudden light in his eyes. Not light, _fire_. Determination.

I scowled at him. "Edward," I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. "I got your note."

He stepped outside. "Great. Will you come with me?" He asked me, holding out his hand. It was incredibly hard to resist; I wanted so badly to feel his skin on mine.

Instead, I stepped up beside him, ignoring his invitation. "Okay," I said stiffly. He led me across the yard, into the forest. We hiked and hiked through the forest together for what seemed like hours until we reached the prettiest little meadow. Here, the sun was brightly streaming down onto hundreds of wildflowers. It was bright and warm and beautiful. I walked out into the middle of the little clearing and kneeled down, picking a flower and twirling it between my fingers. Edward sat beside me and for a time, we said nothing. Edward broke the silence. "This is the place I told you about all those months ago. Remember, Bella? I told you I came here to think and that I wanted to show you." He laughed a little. "You questioned my motivations and I had to reassure you by telling you how I would kill you if I wanted to." He smiled, reminiscing, and looked over at me.

I returned his look gravely. "Edward, I can't do this anymore," My eyes bored into his, drilling my message in. "For the last three months, you've avoided me and barely spoken to me and then sent me flowers, just so you could do it all over again. Whenever I try to talk to you, you all of a sudden have someplace you're supposed to be. Alice says you spend most of your free time locked away in your room, and when you're not pretending I don't exist, you're sneaking through my window to cover my room in daffodils or tulips or whatever! Edward what am I supposed to think? _Why haven't you spoken to me? _No texts, no calls, nothing but you practically telling me you never wanted to see me again._ Why?_" I lifted my gaze up to his, waiting for an answer. His eyes burned into mine, flaming.

"Bella, everything I did…" He paused, looking away, before looking back at me. "Was for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, so telling me that you couldn't stand to look at me, even be around me, that was for me?" My voice rose. "Avoiding me, staying away, and ignoring me all this time, _that_ was for me?"

"I couldn't talk to you," He said, his voice quiet and infuriatingly soft. "I never meant for any of this to happen. Everything I've done, I swear I thought I was protecting you, doing what I could to keep you happy. I never wanted to ruin us."

"And look at how it turned out," I said, snidely. "Edward if you didn't want to be friends anymore all you had to do was tell me," I said patiently. "I would have understood. Yeah, it would have hurt, but you dragging this all out has made it hurt so much more. Who could blame you for breaking us? Almost dying is a high price to pay."

He stared at me hard. "That has _nothing_ to do with this at all," he said fiercely.

"Then what _does_ this have to do with?" I all but snarled back at him.

Instead of answering, his gaze drifted over to the side of my face. "What happened to your cheek?" he asked me, voice gentle. He lifted a hand to touch what was left of the slash that was little more than a scratch but then thought better of it when he saw the look on my face.

"Mike and some other idiots decided to ambush me in an alley," I sounded uncaring and indifferent. I hated the change of subject but decided to let it go. "Needless to say, I took care of it. But then that's pretty obvious since I'm here isn't it?"

"You called Alice didn't you?" He said as if he was just now realizing something.

"My truck wouldn't start and I needed a ride home," I shrugged and shifted so that I was leaning on my arm.

"Why didn't you call me, Bella?" he leaned closer to me.

"Because I could be sure Alice would show up. With you, I'm never certain anymore." I snapped at him.

He looked down. "I didn't know," he said sadly. "I didn't know you needed me," He sounded so miserable that I had to gentle my tone. I didn't hate him. I missed him.

"I didn't need you," I told him. He looked up at me, hurt. "But that doesn't mean I didn't want you." I continued tiredly.

"Bella," He whispered and I looked at him, I mean really _looked_. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messier than usual. He was thinner than before and he looked as if he'd died and come back as a ghost. The only thing that remained of the Edward before all of this was the brightness of his eyes. Something unfamiliar burned behind them, dancing and building up behind a thin wall of some sort.

"We aren't friends anymore," I whispered, my eyes tearing up. "I get that. But why can't you tell me _why_?"

He flinched and gazed at me with a look I'd never seen before and I trembled as a light wind picked up. I remembered the night he wrapped his coat around my shoulders the night of the Winter Ball, the way he'd stayed overnight whenever I'd asked him to. How he always put what I wanted above his own desires. I remembered how he always tried to make me happy. How he'd listened when I told him my story. How his presence had kept the nightmares away and how he'd put himself in between me and Jacob. Him being stabbed and the words he'd told me over the course of our time together. _I'll never leave you. Trust me. Anything for you. I'll never leave you. Trust me. I'll never leave you. For you a thousand times over. For you, only for you. I love you, too. Love. I love you. _

I remembered how his smile alone could brighten my day. How I loved it when he laughed. How he was always warm to me, how I always felt safe in his arms and cold whenever I was away from him. Even now, I yearned for his touch. Suddenly I understood what had been staring us both in the face. I knew.

I looked into his eyes again, gazing into their depths and fully understanding what I was seeing there. He was holding back so much. And it was hurting him. Hurting him badly. I had to set us both free.

"Edward?" I murmured.

"Bella?" he breathed.

"Kiss me." The wall behind his eyes broke violently and everything flooded out as his mouth was suddenly hard on mine. The blood boiled under my skin and my hands wound themselves in his hair, curling around the wavy locks tightly, locking him there while he held me tightly around the waist, fingers digging into my lower back. He kissed me desperately, as if we only had so much time before we were ripped apart forever. I pulled him closer, needing him there as I kissed him back with everything I had. Gradually, the kisses slowed, becoming gentle and lingering.

"Bella," He murmured against my lips. He trailed his lips from the corner of my mouth down to the edge of my jaw, leaving a trail of fire in his wake, and kissed the hollow just under my ear. I bent my head back and closed my eyes in pleasure as he kissed my throat before trailing his lips back to my ear and to my mouth again.

He reached the corner of my lips again. "Why can't you be around me? Why can't you look at me?" I whispered. He pulled back just the tiniest bit, leaving a hair's breadth of space between us and I pulled him back, needed his heat again, after battling wanting answers versus wanting his skin on mine.

"Because I love you," he said against my mouth, kissing me more passionately than before. "I love you," he whispered. "More than anything."

I clung to him as we both fell onto the grass, just needing to be near each other.

**A/N:**** Hey guys, what'd ya think? They finally kissed! EEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP! You gotta love me for that right? So come on! show me some love you guys! ! Next chapter comes out . The more reviews I get determines the wait! ;)**

******Lot's O Luv!**

******xoxo Sirena32**


	12. Unspoken Love

**A/N: ****Hey guys, I'm back. I hope you liked chapter eleven. I'm really needing some reviews right about now. Hope you like this chappy :D! Outfits are on my profile! just click the links! Oh, and read the notes under the outfits. They explain everything! Thanks! ^_^**

**-xoxo Sirena32**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the genius that is Stephanie Meyer.**

Unspoken Love

**BPOV:**

I lay on my back in the grass, staring up at the night sky. You could see the stars from here and I marveled at the numbers. Thousands of tiny silver lights peppered the giant expanse of blue and a light breeze swept through the meadow. Edward was next to me, his fingers intertwining with mine. We were silent, but it was nothing like before. This time, the silence was peaceful and pleasant. Our passivity was broken only by a soft kiss, a murmured 'I love you', a light sigh.

I twisted until I was on my side facing him, my head resting on my arm. There was barely an inch of space between us and his cool breath caressed my face. I could still taste him on my lips but I resisted the urge to kiss him again.

"You never told me," I murmured, trailing a finger down his nose.

"What?" He replied, kissing my finger as it rested on his bottom lip.

"Why you felt like you had to distance yourself from me."

He smiled gently. "Yes I did," He toyed with a lock of my hair. "Because I love you." I must have looked confused, because he went on to explain. "All this time I've loved you," He started and my heart warmed at that very first sentence. "But after what you've been through, I wasn't sure if you could love again. I mean, after what happened last time…" He trailed off as his brilliant green eyes darkened as we both remembered Jacob Black. "Whenever I'm around you, whenever I'm near you, it's so hard not to try to get closer, to put my arms around your waist, draw you close, to kiss you, make you mine." He leaned closer and his mouth actually brushed mine. The ghost of a kiss. "It became unbearable; I didn't want to ruin what we already had and if I trusted myself around you, I thought I would. So I left you. I told myself it was the best thing to do and I barely let myself speak to you. It tore me up inside, so I tried to tell you what I was feeling without words."

I was confused again and my brows drew together as I frowned. "You did?"

He grinned crookedly. "I sent you flowers."

"I know." I tilted my head to the side, in sudden realization. "They meant something, didn't they?"

"Did you look it up?" He asked me.

"No…"

His grin turned sly. "Look it up."

I sat up. "Okay, Mr. Smart-ass."

He sat up with me, grinning widely. "You love me,"

"It took me a while to figure it out, but yes, I really do." My heart was pounding as he stared into my eyes and my face and neck flushed with heat. He leaned towards me, but I couldn't move, frozen as I was in his gaze. His lips touched mine with the gentlest of pressure and I wound my arms around his neck, going limp as I leaned my head back and he kissed my throat. My pulse was racing, a fact that he registered. His nose skimmed my across my neck as he turned his head to the side and pressed his ear to my chest. To my heart.

"Your heart is beating extremely fast," He observed.

"It's you. You do this to me," I said, breathlessly. The wind went through his hair, making the reddish gold dance in front of me. He still listened to my heart as I drifted back down to lie on the grass with his head on my chest. I ran my hands through his hair before knotting my fingers around the thick wavy locks as he buried his face in my throat, and held him there, prisoner. My skin burned where he kissed. Slow, leisurely kisses. Trailing across my throat, just under the edge of my jaw, kissing the corner of my mouth, teasing me, but always returning to the hollow where my heart beat erratically.

_Look it up. _That was what he had said. I was at home, hours later, at my computer in my room looking up flower meanings. I tried to remember what he had given me.

_A pink camellia, red carnations, yellow daffodils, purple hyacinths, a primrose and a red tulip. And then the bouquet. White violet, a yellow zinnia, a yellow tulip, a primrose, a purple hyacinth, a daffodil, a white chrysanthemum, a pink camellia and one arbutus. _

I pulled up a website for flower meanings on the browser called . All of the flowers were listed alphabetically and I decided to look at the meanings in the order that Edward had given them to me. First the camellia, then the carnations, daffodils and so on:

CAMELLIA (PINK) -

Longing for you

CARNATION (RED) -

My Heart Aches For You, Admiration

DAFFODIL -

Regard, Unrequited Love, You're the Only One, The Sun is Always Shining when I'm with You

HYACINTH (PURPLE) -

I am Sorry, Please Forgive Me, Sorrow

PRIMROSE -

I Can't Live Without You

TULIP (RED) -

Believe Me, Declaration of Love

VIOLET (WHITE) -

Let's Take a Chance

ZINNIA (YELLOW) -

Daily Remembrance

TULIP (YELLOW) -

There's Sunshine in Your Smile

CHRYSANTHEMUM (WHITE) -

Truth

ARBUTUS -

Thee Only Do I Love

He, he never…forgot me. He was always thinking about me. He loved me. And I had been too stupid to see that. I was so stupid that I couldn't even understand why my own heart had ached so much for him. I'd always considered myself pretty sharp and now the sheer obviousness of my stupidity overwhelmed me. Whatever half-formed doubts I'd had about Edward's sincerity were obliterated. I loved him. He loved me.

_This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,  
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. _Romeo and Juliet.

Monday morning brought rain and clouds with absolutely _no_ sunshine at all. It was funny how the weather always mirrored the exact opposite of what I was feeling. After stepping out of the shower, I blow-dried my hair and threw on some darkwash skinny jeans, black wedge heeled combat boots and a striped black and white blouse under a pink and black lacy corset. I left my hair down and grabbed my bag. I kissed Sebastian good-bye on my way out the door and jumped into my truck.

I arrived at the school ealier than usual and decided to sit in my truck for a bit, blasting a song from Trapt called Headstrong. Wow the song rocked! I was singing to myself while I went over my biology notes one last time for the pop quiz Mr. Banner was sure to give when I was startled when I glanced at my window and saw Emmett's face plastered against it with a grotesque expression on his face. I jumped and yelped in alarm and Emmett doubled over in laughter. I opened my car door and stepped out into the rain, holding my umbrella over my head and frowned at him as he let out loud, boisterously obnoxious guffaws.

"Emmett! You're lucky I don't hit you over the head with this umbrella right now!" I told him as I glared at him.

"I totally scared you." He said, straightening, but still chuckling.

"Yeah, so? What do you want? A medal?" I grabbed my bag and shut my door before turning back to him. "Where's Edward?"

He blinked innocently. "Now why oh why would _I_ of all people know the whereabouts of my dear old little brother Edward Anthony Masen Cullen?"

"Because he's your _brother_?" I told him, exasperated. "I'll find him myself." I sighed and walked around him, looking for Edward's Volvo through the fog.

Emmett kept up with me easily. "Ooh, aren't we eager to see little Eddie today."

"_Emmett,_" I said, testily.

"Edward and Bella sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-_G_! First comes _love_! Then comes marri—" I put my hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, you idiot," I hissed. He licked my hand and I snatched it from his mouth, wiping it on my jeans. "_Gross!_ Emmett!"

He cackled, wickedly. I turned away from him and saw Edward getting out of his car along with Alice, Jasper and Rose. I started towards them, glaring at Emmett one last time. I walked up to Edward and kissed him, twining my arms around his neck, while Emmett whistled behind me. I pulled back from him and smiled. "Good morning,"

He grinned back. "It is now,"

I turned away from him and hugged Alice and Rose. They were giggling and smiling crazily. I hugged Jasper. "Hey Bella," He greeted me in his soft voice. He was amused but, being Jasper, he was quieter about it than everyone else.

Someone picked me up from behind and I gasped as the ground suddenly disappeared from beneath me. "Bella don't I get a hug?" Emmett's laughing voice came from behind me and I tried to twist out of his grasp.

"No, I'm still pissed at you. Put me _down_!" He squeezed me anyway until I felt like my eyes would pop out of my head.

"Emmett, you're killing her," Edward commented, grinning. Thankfully, he put me down and my chest heaved, gasping for breath. Laughing, Edward's family headed towards the school. Edward hung back, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me closer to his side. I lifted my umbrella so that it sheltered both of us from the rain, though there was no point since my hair was already dripping wet and my raincoat was soaked. We entered the school and I closed my umbrella. Edward walked me to my locker and I shrugged off my coat and stuffed it in. I rang out my hair while Edward's eyes ran up and down my body, raking my outfit. He smiled slyly. "You look nice,"

I smiled at him. "Really? Because right now, I'm feeling a little like a half drowned cat."

He moved closer to me and leaned down. "You don't look anything like a half drowned cat," He murmured. His bright eyes were dark as his lips curled into a smile. "I wasn't finished kissing you in the parking lot." He continued and I smirked, hooked my fingers in the belt loops on his jeans, and pulled him to me.

"Why don't I fix that?" I whispered as his mouth descended on mine. Every eye in the hallway was on us, watching and disbelieving as he pushed me up against the lockers. My hands were in his hair, holding him prisoner as usual and the wet tendrils were cold against my skin.

He kissed me passionately and my lips parted as I inhaled, taking in his scent. I licked his top lip, tasting him and he bit my bottom lip in response. The first bell rang, signaling the fact that class would be starting in five minutes.

"We have to get to English," I told him against his mouth.

"They're not teaching anything that we don't know already," He said, holding me closer.

"Mmm." Was my brilliant reply. "But if I skip, Charlie will find out. There are no secrets in Forks. And if I end up grounded, you won't be able to kiss me again for _months_."

He pulled back just the tiniest bit. "We still have school; I'll be able to kiss you then."

"Nope," I said teasingly. "I'll blame you for getting me into trouble to begin with and so I'll have to punish you." I grinned wickedly and he debated.

"Kiss you now vs. months later. Hmm." He looked at meand kissed me again. My hands were in his hair again for the few seconds his lips were on mine, before he pulled away again, sighing.

I straightened up from the lockers, straightening my top and running a hand through my hair. "Your hair's soaked." I said as I shut my locker door.

"Yeah, water tends to do that to it." He replied, amused. He shook his head, spraying water droplets everywhere.

"_Sexy_," I breathed.

"You think?" He had a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Definitely," I assured him. We walked through the hallway together, past tons of people standing frozen with their jaws practically on the floor. Irritated, I turned and smiled sweetly at them. "Don't leave your mouths open too long; you'll catch flies."

**A/N: Sorry for the wait and the briefness of this chapter you guys, but, I don't know, I've been a bit restless and thinking maybe I shouldn't spend so much time at the computer. Don't worry or anything. I'm still going to update as much as i can. I'm not quitting until this story is finished. Actually, it isn't quitting if the project is finished, so I'm never quitting, basically. First came the misery, then the pain, then the comfort, then the psycho maniac ex boyfriend attack, then the pain, then the misery, then the anger, then the LOVE, and next comes the jealousy and the backstabbing whores. Then more friendship and finally, the thing you guys have been waiting for... the final melting, love, warmth and happily ever after. I hope you guys like what's coming up and I hope you liked this chapter. I adore reviews, and though I doubt you guys will give me any :( I'm still begging for some. Please people! Show me you love me! Until next we meet, ^_^**

**xoxo Sirena32**

**Oh, p.s**

**Check out my profile! EVERYONE OF BELLA"S OUTFITS ARE ON MY PROFILE! JUST CLICK THE LINKS! I particularly like what's she's wearing in this chapter. My parents would totally freak if I ever wore a corset!**


	13. Random Geeks!

A/N: Click this link: www..com srry, no this isn't an update, but the next chapter, to be with my beloved, is coming out sooner than you think. Lot's o Love,

xoxo Sirena32 a.k.a Darkrose32


	14. To Be With My Beloved

**A/N:**** Hey guys. I am SO upset with you people. I mean, come on! I write like twelve chapters, which are like thirteen to thirty one pages EACH and you guys REFUSE to review. Try multiplying thirty one by twelve, I'm too lazy to do it, and you'll see what I'm talking about. To the people who DO review, thank you so much. I enjoy reading your rants ; ) your criticisms, your opinions and your voices in general. I write for you guys and thanks again. I need some ideas for where the story is going next. Feel free to give me some ****! **

**xoxo Sirena32**

To Be with My Beloved

**BPOV: **

Friday night found me at the Cullen's place, lounging on one of their gigantic sofas next to Edward. Movie Night. I was sleeping over and Alice had decided we were watching something scary, so I sat with my legs curled up under me, in my pajamas, with Edward's arm around me under a blanket.

It was a while before we all agreed on a movie and when we did, Emmett picked up Insidious from the pile in front of the giant flat-screen and put it in with an evil laugh. As the lights dimmed, Edward deftly slid me onto his lap and pulled me against his chest.

I smiled without looking at him. "Scared?"

I heard his low chuckle. "No,"

"Liar," I accused him. "Don't worry; I'll be here to protect you from the bad, bad ghosts."

"Would that be before or after you've screamed and hidden your face in my shirt?" He replied inquiringly.

"Neither. It takes a lot more than a movie to scare me." I said matter-of-factly. "If anything, I find these things rather funny. Hysterically so." I continued snobbishly.

"Okay, Bella," He conceded, his tone carefully laced with defeat. "You win." I could almost hear what he didn't say, but was obviously thinking. _For now._

I settled into him, comfortably. He kissed my hair and then the movie started. If you've never seen Insidious, you really need to. Sorry if I'm spoiling it, but the whole thing centered around astral projection, which is when you can travel outside of your body when you sleep. The son fell into a "coma" and wouldn't wake up and the husband's mom's friend was like this psychic chick who could help the son get back to his body before a demon possessed it.

The thing scared the living shit out of me, and Edward of course, picked up on it. I could feel him laughing beneath me whenever I jumped as some ghastly spirit leaped toward the screen.

When the father found out he could astral project too, and stepped out of his body to look for his son in a creepy mansion in the spirit world, I pulled the blanket up to my nose, ready to cover my eyes whenever it became necessary. The movie ended with the psychic woman being strangled by who she thought was the father, but was actually an evil spirit who had been following him around since he was a little boy and had now possessed his body before he could step into it again. It ended with the wife realizing that her husband's body was now possessed by said evil spirit. The screen went dark before the credits rolled upwards with some scary music.

I stared at the screen before I burst out. "What the hell?"

Jasper looked over at me. "What's wrong?" Everyone had turned towards me.

"That's a bloody _awful_ way to end a movie." I said in explanation.

"Well, it _did_ send shivers down my spine," said Rosalie, shuddering. "I mean, think about it: Just when you think everything's okay and turned out right, you find out you've been screwed over by a demon and now you're stuck with a blood thirsty husband. It really gets you thinking."

"Yeah," Alice said. "About whether or not she's going to kill him, or get killed."

"I vote for 'kill him'!" Emmett put in. "I couldn't stand him from the beginning. There was obviously _something_ wrong with their little freakazoid son."

"You mean, other than the fact that he was in a _coma_?" Edward retorted.

"Nah, not really." Emmett replied, shrugging. We all laughed before heading to bed. I went up to Alice's room after kissing Edward goodnight. Her room was huge and had pink painted walls with black trim. There were clothes literally _everywhere_ and I almost broke my ankle on a seven inch black stiletto heel. The only place without clothes was Alice's huge bed. It was covered with a rosy pink comforter and the head was covered in a mountain of black and pink pillows. She slid under the covers on one end, and I slid in the other. I laughed when she practically disappeared into the pillows and she sat up, grimacing at me.

"I don't know why you're laughing when the same thing always happens to you too." She said indignantly.

I laughed again. "What I don't get is why you don't take all the pillows away, Ally."

"Well, I don't want to _lose_ them," She said as if it made perfect sense.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Goodnight," I leaned back against the pillows, pulling the covers up to my chin and curling over onto my side, the way I usually slept.

"Goodnight, Bella." She replied, turning out the lamp and throwing us into darkness. It was quiet for a bit and I closed my eyes. Then Alice tapped me on my shoulder. "Bella?"

I rolled over so that I faced her. The covers were pulled over our heads and I could barely make out her elfin face. "Yes, Alice?"

"You and Edward looked very cozy tonight," She said, giggling.

I turned over again. "Good night, Alice."

"No, no, wait!" She whispered, urgently.

I turned back over. "What?"

"I just wanted to know. You love my brother, don't you?"

I could feel my cheeks heating up. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Confirmation, Bella!" She sang.

"Shh!" I hissed, half-heartedly. "Do you want to wake everyone up?"

"No, I want to know how you feel about my brother."

"Yes, Alice," I sighed. "I am very deeply in love with him. Can I go to sleep now?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I'm really tired right now and Coach Goad was merciless today. He made us—"

"No,no,no," She cut me off. "I _meant_ why do you love my brother?"

"Oh," I was taken aback. I'd never really thought much about why I did, I just knew it to be true. "Well, because he's sweet and kind, when he wants to be, at least. And he's sarcastic, witty, charming and charismatic. He's unbelievably gorgeous, but he doesn't rely on his looks for anything at all. He has a brilliantly clever mind and he isn't pushy. He _knows_ me. I mean, he _really_ knows me and he's shown me over and over again how trustworthy he is."

"Anything else?"

I thought about it. "I love the way he looks whenever he plays the piano. Like he's putting everything he has into his music. I love the way he makes his lines flow when he's drawing, the way he uses his hands to emphasize the things he's saying. I love how his hair can never stay neat and how his eyes always express whatever he isn't saying. He's always there for me. Always thinking about what's best for me. Sometimes I wish he wasn't so selfless; it's how he got hurt last time." I finished sadly.

"He loves you too, you know." She said after a moment.

"I know."

"I'm happy for you guys and everything, but could you do me a favor and _not_ try to suck his face off every five minutes? He _is_ my brother, after all, and I mean, _come on_, who wants to spend their time watching their brother in a hot and heavy make-out session? It's disgusting."

"Good night, Alice." I said, turning back onto my side again.

"Okay, okay," she said, laughing. "You can make-out with him for however long you want."

"_Good night, Alice._"

She sighed. "Night, Bella." Finally, there was silence. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep. I was drifting when Alice said my name.

"Yes, Alice?"

"I can't sleep."

"Why not?" I asked her.

"Because of the movie." She whimpered.

I laughed. "Oh, Alice. Nothing is going to get you. Think about Jasper chasing all the big bad monsters away."

"Okay," she murmured sleepily, and soon, she was snoring lightly.

I couldn't sleep after that. My thoughts had turned towards the frightening memories that still sometimes haunted my dreams. Jacob had been arrested and was sent to prison for life after being charged with the murder of a child as well as with physical assault, so I no longer had to worry about him. It didn't stop me from dreaming though.

Eventually, I gave up trying to sleep in Alice's room and carefully maneuvered my way out of her bed, careful not to wake her. I crept into the hallway and into Edward's room, quietly closing the door behind me.

He was lying shirtless on his back, with his arm under his head. His mouth was slightly ajar and his eyes flickered beneath his lids as if he were dreaming. It was adorable. I gently shifted him, waking him up.

"Bella?" he said sleepily, shifting so that he was partly sitting up. "What's wrong?"

I stood by his bed and shivered in my light tank top and shorts. "I can't sleep in Alice's room. Can I sleep in here?"

"Bad dreams?"

I nodded and he held his arms out for me. "Come on,"

I climbed into bed with him and his arms wrapped around my waist. I lay facing him, our faces barely two inches apart.

"Thank-you," I murmured, resting my hands against his chest, feeling the heat coming off his skin. He touched his lips to mine lightly.

"Anything for you."

I drifted off easily and slumbered deeply the rest of the night.

The next morning, I woke up with my head on Edward's bare chest and my arms and legs tangled up in his. I was completely covered by the blankets and the darkness created a warm, safe atmosphere. Briefly, I wondered if that's how a baby feels in its mother's womb before it's born.

I could hear the steady _thump _of Edward's heart and felt it as his chest rose and fell with every breath. It was wonderful just lying here with him. Then his breathing changed as he woke up and his heart stuttered a bit before beating faster. Hmm, that was interesting.

I threw the cover off of my head so that I could at least see him. He was looking down at me, eyes bright and mischievous.

"Good morning," He said, smiling.

My answering grin must have stretched across my entire face as I took in his appearance. "Your hair's a mess."

He grinned back at me and ran a hand through his hair, teasing it up further. "At least I'm not alone," He replied, picking up a strand of my hair and tugging on it playfully. "Yours looks like a haystack."

I laughed and went to sit up, but his arms materialized around my waist.

"Did I say you could leave yet?" He asked, mock-severely.

"Alice will be looking for me," I warned him.

"Let her look," He pulled me back down on top of him and kissed me like he never wanted to stop. My hands were on his shoulders trying to grip myself closer to him as one of his hands drifted down my side past my hip and to my leg. My bare thigh burned where he touched and I gasped when he flipped us so that he was above me and I was being pressed into the pillows. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him still closer while his lips drifted from my mouth and trailed across my jaw line to my neck and down to my shoulder. I shuddered as his nose skimmed across my collarbone and he pressed his lips to the hollow there. He kissed his way up to the hollow right below my left ear and caught my earlobe in his teeth.

"I'm _really_ not looking forward to having to give you up to Alice," He murmured.

I kissed his neck and knotted my hands in his unruly hair and pulled his mouth back to mine. "Then don't," I said against his lips. He moaned and pressed me down further into the sheets, kissing me harder and more passionately before pulling away.

He sat up, eyes dancing with a mixture of desire, excitement, mischief and extreme happiness. I pouted at the loss of contact. "Did I say you could leave yet?" I quoted him, pulling him back down. He laughed and kissed me again, albeit briefly, before pulling away.

"I think I hear Alice storming down the hallway," He told me, chuckling.

I sat up with him, sighing and running a hand through my hair, a habit I'd picked up from being around Edward so much. I could hear her too and it was only a matter of time before—

The door crashed open and in its place was the tiny silhouette of the pixie herself. "Bella!" She marched into the room, completely ignoring her brother, and clamped her little hand around my wrist like a vise, trying to pull me out of Edward's bed.

"Noooooooo!" I wailed. "You'll never take me alive!" I grabbed Edward's arm and he wrapped both arms around my waist.

"Bella come_ on_! They're having this humongous sale at the mall and I don't want to be late!" Alice said, nearly pulling my arm out of its socket. Wow she was strong.

Edward let go of my waist for the tiniest moment and slipped one arm under my legs before scooping me up completely, carrying me bridal style. Somehow, Alice lost her hold on my arm and Edward ran me out of his room and carried me down the stairs. I laughed as he ran from Alice, carrying me all around the house, while secretly hoping he wouldn't drop me. Alice finally cornered us in the laundry room and we were forced to surrender.

I smiled at Edward. "You gave it your best shot," I told him, pinching his cheek as Alice led me away as she grumbled and muttered to herself.

"Yeah, and since you did, you're coming along with us as punishment." Alice called over her shoulder.

Edward held up his hands. "Hey, at least I'll be able to sneak Bella away from you when you stop for ice-cream in the food court." He winked at me and I flushed.

Back upstairs, Alice practically threw me into the shower, telling me to hurry up and get out or else. Despite her threat, I took my own sweet time, washing my hair and letting the warm water run down my face. When I stepped out, I wrapped a towel around my body, brushed my teeth and blow-dried my hair so that it fell in soft waves around my shoulders. I dressed in a black halter-neck and crepe and chiffon shirt and patchwork low-rise jeans with black heeled combats. I wore a black leather and chain bracelet, black brass-knuckle-and-sparrow earrings with a pretty black purse to go with.

When Alice looked me over, she smiled in approval before dressing herself in a short strapless black and white icon dress over a black tank-top with fashionably worn and torn skinny jeans underneath. She wore velvet black ankle-boots and black and silver Bohemian design earrings with a black bag. She twirled for me and I laughed.

"Y'know it's funny, Alice." I said, measuring her height against my shoulder. "No matter how high the heels you wear are, you never get any taller." I laughed again as she smacked my arm and walked out, me following close behind.

Rosalie was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, already dressed in a black lace blouse under a red spaghetti strapped newsprint vest top, black skinny jeans, stilettos and a dark purse. Her golden hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back as she looked up as we came down, and smiled.

"About time you two showed up," She said.

Alice grimaced. "Blame Bella and our idiot brother, we'd have left _ages_ ago if they hadn't decided to lam out on us." She shot a look at me and I smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry?" I offered.

"Sorry don't cut it, sister," said Alice, putting her hands on her tiny hips. "And that reminds me. _Edward!_ Get your lousy butt down here _NOW!_" She called up the stairs.

Edward came down, running a hand through his hair, wearing a T-shirt with a giant 'Peace' sign on it with dark jeans and gray converse. He frowned down at Alice. "I don't even _want_ to come, Alice." He grumbled as he trudged down the stairs, dragging his feet.

"Well you should have thought of that before you interfered." Rosalie replied mercilessly.

We piled into Rose's red convertible, me and Edward in the back seat with Alice riding shotgun. Rosalie turned the radio to a classic rock station and we all, meaning Alice, Rose and I, sang along to So What by Pink.

**"So What"**

Na na na na na na na na na na na na _[x2]_  
I guess I just lost my husband,  
I don't know where he went,  
So I'm gonna drink my money,  
I'm not gonna pay his rent,  
I got a brand new attitude and  
I'm gonna wear it tonight,  
I wanna get in trouble,  
I wanna start a fight,  
na na na na na na na I wanna start a fight,  
na na na na na na na I wanna start a fight.

_[Chorus:]_  
So, so what  
I'm still a rock star,  
I got my rock moves,  
And I don't need you,  
And guess what,  
I'm having more fun,  
And now that we're done,  
I'm gonna show you tonight,  
I'm alright,  
I'm just fine,  
And you're a tool,  
So, so what,  
I am a rock star,  
I got my rock moves,  
And I don't want you tonight.

(Uh check my flow, aw)  
The waiter just took my table,  
And gave it to Jessica Simps (shit!),  
I guess I'll go sit with drum boy,  
At least he'll know how to hit,  
What if this song's on the radio,  
then somebody's gonna die,  
I'm gonna get in trouble,  
My ex will start a fight,  
na na na na na na na he's gonna start a fight,  
na na na na na na na we're all gonna get in a fight!

_[Chorus]_

You weren't there,  
You never were,  
You want it all,  
But that's not fair,  
I gave you life,  
I gave my all,  
You weren't there,  
You let me fall.

_[Chorus]_

No, no, no, no  
I don't want you tonight,  
You weren't there,  
I'm gonna show you tonight,  
I'm alright,  
And you're a tool,  
And your a tool,  
So, so what,  
I am a rock star,  
I got my rock moves,  
And I don't want you tonight!

Laughing hysterically, I air guitarred in the back seat while Edward grinned. After Pink, Queen came on with We Will Rock You. Of course everybody knew that one and we sang it loud and proud until we pulled into the parking lot of the mall in Port Angeles, stomping and clapping with the beat. When Rosalie parked, Edward took my hand as I got out and spun me around the he would if we were waltzing. I giggled and Rosalie rolled her eyes as she walked past to follow Alice, who was already a few steps ahead.

"Come _on_, Bella!" She called over her shoulder. I sighed and took Edward's hand, intertwining our fingers, and followed them to what I knew would soon make me regret wearing heels.

Four hours and like, a _million_ bags later, found us, rather predictably, in the food court. Alice and Rosalie had gone to get ice-cream and Edward was supposed to be guarding the bags. I'd stayed behind with him because at this point, my feet were killing me and I needed a rest.

I leaned against his shoulder and groaned. "Knock-knock?"

"Who's there?"

"I hate,"

"I hate who?"

"I hate _shopping,_" I groaned again.

He laughed. "That was one _awful_ joke but I won't blame you for it since this is torture for me too," His fingers trailed across the bare skin of my back and I shivered with pleasure.

"What happened to us sneaking away while they were otherwise occupied?" I asked him.

"We can always ditch them in Barnes and Nobles," He said, winking. I laughed and sat up as I thought about being surrounded by books, in a quiet, comfy environment. Alone. With him.

"Not a bad idea, Goldylocks," I said, playfully ruffling his hair.

He caught my wrist. "You _do_ know that I am _not_ a little fairy tale girl that goes skipping through the woods, breaking and entering bears' houses and stealing their food, right?"

I smirked at him. "I might have forgotten," I batted my eyelashes at him. "Want to remind me?" I continued sweetly.

He leaned in and swiftly kissed me just under my jaw-line before sitting back. "Maybe later,"

I pouted, before grinning again. "Here they come," I nodded towards Alice and Rosalie as they walked towards us with the ice-cream.

"Here we are," said Alice. "with a Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate Fudge for Bella, a Chocolate Mint for me, Rocky Road for Rose and last but not least, Lime Sherbet for Edward." She smiled a little too sweetly as she slid it over to him. "I know it's your favorite."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I hate Sherbet. It's not even a real ice-cream,"

"Oh, I'm sorry brother dearest, I had _no _idea." She smirked at him while he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Alice," I wheedled at her. "He's suffered enough,"

"No, he hasn't," she sniffed.

"And he can't go get another one because I took his wallet too," added Rosalie with an evil grin.

"What? No you didn't—" He checked his back pocket and came up empty apparently.

"Really, you guys?" I said. "Stealing his wallet? Don't you think that's going a bit too far?"

"Oh, don't feel left out Bella, dear," said replied, giggling. "We took yours too." She turned to Edward gleefully. "Now you _have_ to eat your horrendously sad excuse for an ice-cream,"

I pushed it back to her. "No he doesn't; he can share with me," I picked up a spoonful of ice-cream and put it in his mouth and when he grinned, I had to resist the urge to add a 'So there!' to the end of my sentence. He took the spoon from my fingers and fed me a bit of it too. I smiled at him, getting caught in those eyes. He stared back at me, his hair falling over his forehead and I pushed it back. Our moment was interrupted by Alice murmuring:

"Whore alert, everyone hide,"

We all looked up to see Lauren and Jessica entering the food court.

"_Damn_ it," Rosalie said in a low voice.

"Oh no, they've spotted us!" I whispered harshly as Jessica turned back to Lauren and motioned towards us.

"Could they have dressed any more ridiculously?" said Alice incredulously. Her face was wide-eyed with horror. I looked again, this time noting their outfits. What I saw made me burst out laughing. Lauren wore a grayish white version of Rosalie's tank, only she had nothing under it, with a really short black leather mini-skirt, red heels with little bows on them, and a bright blue bag that _did not_ match at all. Jessica was just as slutty but way more ridiculous. She wore red overall shorts that barely covered her ass with a black camisole underneath. She wore bright orange over the knee go-go boots with a giant yellow purse and huge blue star-shaped earrings. If that wasn't stupid enough, she was also wearing bright green eye shadow and lipstick with it.

They decided they wanted to make an appearance at our table a ridiculously swayed their way over to say hi. Predictably enough, the first words out of Lauren's mouth were:

"Hey Edward,"

I leaned back in my chair and regarded them coolly. "Hello Lauren, Jessica,"

Her eyes flicked unwillingly to me, "Bella," she replied snottily. "Alice, Rosalie,"

"Bitch," Rosalie murmured under her breath and Edward smiled, hearing her.

Jessica thought the smile was for her and she grinned brilliantly back while Edward looked away. The silence stretched.

"Was there something you _wanted_?" I asked, almost rudely.

Lauren tore her eyes away from my boyfriend and smiled at me. "We just saw you guys and decided to say hi. We should _totally_ hang out more often." She sat herself down on Edward's other side and Jessica sat next to Lauren. Edward shifted uncomfortably, scooting closer to me and I put a hand on his leg, comforting him.

Jessica noticed and sneered at me. "Hey Bella, what's with the gothic look? Black top, black bag, black shoes, black earrings, weird bracelet and who even wears lace anymore? What are you, suicidal? You totally need my help," She and Lauren laughed together and I leaned back in my chair, regarding them coolly.

"Well, Jessica, if I ever want to walk around looking like Skittles for Whores, I'll be sure to give you a call." I smiled benevolently while Rosalie, Alice and Edward laughed and Jessica turned red.

"Skittles for Whores? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Sweetheart," Alice said, laughingly. "You don't wear bright orange, blue, green, red and yellow at the same time without expecting people to wonder when you're going to start saying 'skittles: taste the rainbow'. It's just not possible."

"Ha!" Jessica spat. "You think you're the fashion expert, Alice, but you can't even do your own makeup right. You can't even tell if you're wearing any."

Rosalie and I snickered and Rose said: "Well your makeup is definitely interesting, Jessica. Tell me, when you chose green eyes-shadow and lipstick this morning, were you thinking of the princess or the frog?"

She stuck her nose in the air. "The princess, obviously,"

"Well you look like a frog," We dissolved into hysterics while, Jessica, red-faced, sputtered indignantly.

When we finally managed to shut ourselves up, Alice and Rosalie got up to throw their trash away while Edward and I finished the last of my ice-cream all the while, ignoring Lauren and Jessica.

When I gave him the last bit, some of it was smeared on his upper lip and, giggling, I leaned forward and licked his lip clean. He chuckled and wiped a finger on the inside of the empty cup, collecting some sludge leftover on the sides before wiping it on my bottom lip.

Grinning, he leaned towards me and took my lip in his teeth, running the tip of his tongue over it. My hand knotted itself in his hair, holding him to me as he kissed me and I kissed him back, tasting the cappuccino and chocolate in his mouth and relishing the fact that he was _mine_.

I pulled back. "Mmm, you taste _good_,"

"Do I?" His eyes twinkled, mischievously.

"Oh, yeah," I rubbed my nose against his. "I might go in for another taste,"

"I would let you."

"Ah-hem," Lauren pretended to cough. I ignored her as I kissed Edward again, partly rubbing him in her face and partly just enjoying being with him. "Ah-_hem_," she tried again and without pulling away from Edward, I reached my hand into my purse, pulled out some cough drops and tossed them to her. Edward smiled against my lips and pulled away as Alice and Rosalie came back.

"Where to next, Bella?" Alice asked amiably.

I immediately jumped at my chance to go to the store of my choice. "Barnes & Nobles," I said, standing. I looked down at all the bags surrounding our table. "But first, let's put these in the car. Edward shouldn't have to lug these around the whole time.

"_Thank_-you," Edward said. "Finally, someone who understands."

"Okay," Rose replied. "We can be flexible," And we gathered everything up and headed to the car. Unfortunately, Lauren and Jessica followed us.

While Alice and Rosalie organized the bags in the car, I stood to the side and watched. Edward stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist and his chin resting on my shoulder. I yawned and leaned back into him.

"Tired?" He asked me.

"You have no idea," My feet were killing me, my head was starting to hurt, I really wanted to sit back down and my neck was starting to hurt. "Everything hurts," I told him.

"Your neck?"

"Mmhm,"

He pressed his lips to my throat, lingering and trailing his mouth up towards my ear. "Your shoulder?"

"Yes," My voice shook as I struggled to form a coherent reply while he was touching me. His lips trailed down the side of my neck to my bare shoulder.

"Better?" His breath tickled my ear.

"For now," I said, smiling softly.

At Barnes and Nobles, Alice, Rosalie and Jessica and Lauren, who _wouldn't go away_, all decided to chill at the café while Edward and I actually went to go browse the books. I lead him to the teen fiction section and perused the dark romance novels. I'd picked up Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and sat down with my back against a bookshelf when Edward sat down with me and leaned against me, his head on my chest, with his hair tickling my neck, and his arm in my lap.

"Will you read to me?" He asked me.

I leaned my chin on his head. "If you want me to,"

"I do,"

"Then I will," I kissed his hair. "What shall I read?"

"Whatever you want,"

I looked at the book I was holding, shrugged and started to read to him in the quiet solitude of millions of books. It was wonderful to just sit here, to be with my beloved.

**A/N: ****I hope you guys liked it. Sorry it was so late, but school's started, everything has been so hurried and hectic and I've been busy. You know how it is. Anyway, I'm here now and I'm BEGGING for reviews. Come on people! Do unto others as you would have them do to you! **

**Love you guys!**

**xoxoSirena32 **


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